Wendy McMurdo (born 1962) specialises in

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

and digital media. In 2018 she was named as one of the Hundred Heroines, an award created by the Royal Photographic Society to showcase global female photographic practice.

Early life and education

McMurdo was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland. She attended

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

and Pratt Institute in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York where she first became interested in photography.

Career

Her work centres around the relationship between technology and identity and she has produced several influential bodies of work which explore this theme. In the mid-1990s her first one-person show ''In a Shaded Place – the digital and the uncanny '' was toured extensively by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

. Her subsequent exhibition at the Centro de Fotografia Universidad de Salamanca in 1998 resulted in the publication of the first monograph on her work. She has been included in numerous group shows, including ''Unheimlich'', curated by Urs Stahel at the

Fotomuseum Winterthur Fotomuseum Winterthur is a museum of photography in Winterthur, Switzerland. History The museum was founded in 1993 and is dedicated to photography as art form and document, and as a representation of reality. Fotomuseum Winterthur is an art g ...

in Switzerland, ''Scanner'', curated by

Lawrence Rinder Lawrence R. Rinder is a contemporary art curator and museum director. He directed the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) from 2008 to 2020. Education Rinder received a B.A. in art from Reed College and an M.A. in art history fro ...

at the CCA

Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts Established in 1998, the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts is a contemporary art center in San Francisco, California, US, and part of the California College of the Arts. It holds exhibitions, lectures, and symposia, releases publications, and ...

, San Francisco, California, ''The Anagrammatical Body – The Body and its Photographic Condition'' at the Neue Galerie Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz, Austria, and ''Only Make Believe – Ways of Playing'', curated by

Marina Warner Dame Marina Sarah Warner, (born 9 November 1946) is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth. She has written for many publicat ...

Compton Verney Compton Verney is a parish and historic manor in the county of Warwickshire, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 119. The surviving manor house is the Georgian mansion Compton Verney House. Descent of the manor The first ...

, UK. Her work has been commissioned by the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

, London and the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

, Edinburgh, and is in a number of collections including that of the Fotomuseum Winterthur, the

agnès b Agnes is a female given name derived from the Greek , meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. The name passed to Italian as Agnese, to French as Agnès, to Portuguese as Inês, and to Spanish as Inés. It is also written as Agness. The name is descended fr ...

, the National Galleries of Scotland and Seattle's

Henry Art Gallery The Henry Art Gallery ("The Henry") is a contemporary art museum located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. Located on the west edge of the university's campus along 15th Avenue N.E. in the University District, it wa ...

, Washington, USA. Her work has been the subject of documentaries for BBC Two,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

and the National Galleries of Scotland. Other commissions include ''Indeterminate Objects (classrooms)'' for The Media Wall,

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established i ...

, London, October 2017 - January 2018; a site-specific project "The World in London" for

exhibited during the 2012 Summer Olympics, and ''The Skater'' for the

Ffotogallery Ffotogallery is the national development agency for photography in Wales. It was established in 1978 and since June 2019 has been based in Cathays, Cardiff. It also commissions touring exhibitions nationally and internationally. Its current dire ...

in Wales, 2009, to celebrate 30 years of photographic commissioning. Recent exhibitions include: "Chat Room" (2019), curated by Hining Ye for the 2021 Shangahi Photofair; newly commissioned work "Night Garden" as part of Florilegium curated by Emma Nicholson, the inaugural biennial exhibition marking the re-opening of Inverleith House at the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

; "On aime l’art...!!" from the Collection Lambert, in Avignon, France (2017); "Gravitas", curated by Christiane Monarchi for Photo50 at the London Art Fair, 2017; DATA RUSH at the Old Sugar Factory in Groningen for the 22nd Noorderlicht International Photofestival; "Digital Play : Wendy McMurdo Collected Works 1995 - 2012" at Street Level Photoworks,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, as part of GENERATION - 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland, a programme of exhibitions across Scotland in 2014. Her short film "Olympia" was showcased by Onedotzero as part of their Future Cities touring programme in 2011/2012. A retrospective of her photographic work was shown at the Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts,

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

in 2011/2012. She is a senior lecturer on the MA Photography programme at

Falmouth University Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...

. In 2015, McMurdo was awarded a PhD degree by publication from the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

for her work exploring the impact of the computer on photography and identity formation. She is a Senior Fellow of the

Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

(SFHEA). In September 2018, McMurdo was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) as Member (Elect). Previous roles include: board member for Stills Gallery (2015-2020) and New Media Scotland (2011-2014); Jill Todd Photographic Award specialist advisor and judge (2011-2014); Royal Society of Edinburgh Young People’s Committee member (2010-2014), and Travelling Gallery advisory panel member (2013-2014); external assessor for MA Photography Review,

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

, London (2015); Senior Assessor/Lecturer for the Open College of the Arts, UK; External Validator (BA Photography)

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancell ...

, UK (2015); Lecturer, School of Fine Art, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design,

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

, UK (1990-2002) and Lecturer, School of Fine Art,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

UK (1985-1897).

Awards

* Henry Moore Fellow (1993–1995) * Leverhulme Research Fellow (2000-2002, 2010-2012) * Creative Scotland Awards (2002, 2014) * Honorary Research Fellow, European Centre for Photographic Research, University of Wales (2010) * One of the Hundred Heroines by the Royal Photographic Society (2018) * RSA Edinburgh Printmakers Publishing Award (2020)

Publications

* Gilda Williams (Ed) (1997). ''Strange Days – British Contemporary Photography.'' Charta Press. Milan * David Brittain (Ed) (1999). ''Creative Camera: Thirty Years of Writing.'' Manchester University Press. Manchester * Centro de Fotografia, Universidad de Salamanca (1998, 2000). ''Wendy McMurdo.'' Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. Spain * Charlotte Cotton (2004). ''The Photograph as Contemporary Art (World of Art).'' Thames & Hudson. London * David Campany (Ed) (2007). ''Art and Photography (Themes & Movements).'' Phaidon Press Ltd. London * Daniel Rubinstein (2009). ''Digitally Yours; The Body in Contemporary Photography.'' The Issues in Contemporary Culture and Aesthetics, 2&3. pp. 181–195. . University of the Arts. Londonhttp://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/6239/1/digitally_yours.pdf *

(2009). ''Wendy McMurdo: The Skater.'' Ffotogallery. Wales. * Sylvia Wolf (2010). ''The Digital Eye: Photographic Art in the Electronic Age.'' Prestel. New York * Hilde Van Gelder & Helen Westgeest (2011). ''Photography Theory in Historical Perspective: Case Studies from Contemporary Art.'' Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester, UK * David Hopkins (2021). ''Dark Toys: Surrealism and the Culture of Childhood.'' Yale University Press. UK Europe and Overseas * Various (2021). ''Nachbilder. Eine Foto Text Anthologie. Herausgegeben von der Plattform Kulturpublizistik der Zurcher Hochschule der Kunste und dem Fotomuseum Winterthur'' Spector Books.

References

External links