Brighton Photo Biennial 2018 Instagram Takeover: Heather Agyepong

Heather Agyepong is a visual artist and performer who lives and works in London. Her art is concerned with mental health and wellbeing, activism, the diaspora and the archive.

2021 Update:

We are thrilled to announce Heather Agyepong and Joanne Coates are the awardees of the fourth Jerwood/Photoworks Awards. This major opportunity supports early-career artists working with photography to make new work and significantly develop their practice. Now in their fourth edition, the Awards will support the two UK-based artists who are between one and ten years into their practice to realize ambitious new works for a national touring exhibition.

Read more about the Awards here. 

Yaa by Heather Agyepong, 2017

Heather uses both lens-based practices and performance with an aim to culminate a cathartic experience for both herself and the viewer.
She uses the technique of re-imagination to engage with communities of interest and the self as a central focus within the image.

 

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Hello all. @heathatrottlives back with you on day 5 of my takeover. In the run up to the opening of #bpb18 here is a lil look at an image from the series Habitus: Potential Realities and the collective contributions from young Brighton residents of how Britannia would look like now facilitated by @bxwarnock ? to fortify, Heather Agyepong, 2018 #visualartist #portraiture #reimagination #britannia #habituspr #newphotograhy #photoworks_uk #heatheragyepong #thegoodimmigrant #immigration

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Sep 14, 2018 at 1:17am PDT

 

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@heathatrottlives here again with some images from my project Yaa, (2017) which explored the idea of black bodies working in white spaces. The role of the deviant and the hypervisible and reclamation being channelled by Ghanaian warrior Yaa Asantewa who fought against colonial powers in 1900. The work was commision by @tate last year. #photoworks_uk #bpb18 #heatheragyepong #visualartist #selfportraiture #reimagination #dizzeerascal #yaaasantewaa #womeninphoto #creatives #femalephotographers #diapsora #selfportraiture

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Sep 13, 2018 at 10:04am PDT

Heather has worked within photographic & performance arts since 2009 with a range of works that have been published, performed and exhibited around the UK and internationally. She was commissioned to produce a visual response to Autograph ABP’s The Missing Chapter project in 2015 with her series Too Many Blackamoors which was shortlisted for the RPS International Print Exhibition 159. Her project The Gaze on Agbogbloshie was also nominated for the Prix Pictet award in 2016 and for the Foam Paul Huf Award 2017. In 2016, she was selected as Mashable’s top 10 female photographers devoted to social justice. Her work is part the Autograph ABP collection.

 

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Good Morning! Day 4 of @heathatrottlives takeover. I thought I’d go back in time to talk about my previous reimagination work. These two images are from my project Too Many Blackamoor s where I used adopted child of Queen Victoria, Lady Sarah Forbes Bonetta to explore vulnerability around black women’s mental health. #visualart #performanceart #womeninphoto #creatives #femalephotographers #selfportraiture #photoworks_uk #bpb18 #heatheragyepong #portraiture #reimagination

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Sep 13, 2018 at 1:03am PDT

 

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Good Morning! @heathatrottlives here visual artist & performer on day 2 of my takeover. Great day yesterday and here is a sneak peek from the shoot for my upcoming commission Habitus: Potential Realities where I re-imagine myself through our good friend Britannia and what she would change/represent once we leave the EU. If you happen to see us on Brighton Beach today do come and say hi. More soon… #photoworks_uk #bpb18 #heatheragyepong #visualartist #portraiture #reimagination #britannia #habituspr #womeninphoto #creatives #femalephotographers

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Sep 10, 2018 at 11:49pm PDT

She studied a BSc Applied Psychology at the University of Kent and went on to complete a MA in Photography & Urban Cultures at Goldsmiths College where she was awarded the Kirsty MacColl 2014 Scholarship. She has recently completed a collaborative commission with Tate Exchange which took place in November 2017 focusing on cultural production, visibility and privilege.

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For more of Heather’s work, click here.