Shining Lights: Black Women Photographers in 1980s–90s Britain

Shining Lights: Black Women Photographers in 1980s–90s Britain is the first critical anthology to bring together the groundbreaking work of Black women photographers active in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s. The anthology is published by MACK and edited by renowned artist Joy Gregory alongside art historian Taous Dahmani.


Amongst the fifty-seven photographers included are Maxine Walker, Ingrid Pollard, Claudette Holmes, Mohini Chandra, Carole Wright, Sutapa Biswas, Maud Sulter, Brenda Agard, Anita McKenzie, Mitra Tabrizian, Poulomi Desai, Virginia Nimarkoh, Nudrat Afza, Merle Van den Bosch, and Eileen Perrier.


The innovative and diverse work created during this period spanned documentary and conceptual practices, including the experimental use of photomontage, self-portraiture, staged imagery, and photography in dialogue with other media. Shining Lights includes new writings by pioneers of the period, including Pratibha Parmar, Roshini Kempadoo, and Symrath Patti, alongside a foreword by Sonia Boyce.


"Salón de Belleza", 1995, 2024
Salón de Belleza

by Cristina Piza from Shining Lights by Joy Gregory (ed.) (MACK, 2024)

1995, 2024Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

"Portrait of two girls from a series for Fashion Designer Wale Adeyemi MBE", 1995, 2024
Portrait of two girls from a series for Fashion Designer Wale Adeyemi MBE

by Jennie Baptiste from Shining Lights by Joy Gregory (ed.) (MACK, 2024)

1995, 2024 Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

"Whitechapel Girls", 1999, 2024
Whitechapel Girls

by Suki Dhanda from Shining Lights by Joy Gregory (ed.) (MACK, 2024). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

1999, 2024Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

"Ghana", 1995-96, 2024
Ghana

by Eileen Perrier from Shining Lights by Joy Gregory (ed.) (MACK, 2024)

1995-96, 2024Courtesy of the artist and MACK.