Jo Spence

Why this artist matters now

Jo Spence was a British photographer and artist who used the camera as a tool for personal and political investigation, particularly around class, gender, and illness. Working from the 1970s onward, she developed a practice that merged documentary photography with autobiographical narrative and collaborative performance, challenging the conventions of fine art photography. Her work often involved family archives and her own body, treating the photograph as evidence of lived experience rather than aesthetic object. Spence's engagement with cancer and its representation in her final years produced some of her most conceptually rigorous work, establishing her as a pioneering figure in feminist and socially engaged photography.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 26d ago