BIOGRAPHY
Sean Raggett (b. 1972, Vancouver) is an award-winning, London-based visual artist whose practice is inspired by the multifold contradictions of public identity and private desire, as well as the 'presence of absence'. His work explores narratives concerned with the complexities of group interaction and cultural dissonance.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work investigates sociological narratives using large-scale colour photographs made primarily with a large-format film camera. These visual constructions aim to reflect the timeless qualities that exist in a singular frame or subject, and the portrayal of 'natural' or 'undisturbed' contemporary visual dramas is key. My undergraduate schooling in social psychology and the Vancouver school of photo-conceptualism have collectively sparked my interest in figurative representation, particularly mid-19th century landscape painting. Fundamentally, the question of art's truth-value intrigues me, particularly how the photographic medium is arguably more about constructing than representing its subjects. Most recently, my ongoing investigations regarding the ever-increasing state of surveillance and self-divulged participation in public theatres like social media are increasingly holding my fascination.
Sean Raggett, August 2017
EDUCATION
2017 - Master of Arts (Distinction) - Royal College of Art (Photography major), London, UK
2004 - Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) - Emily Carr University of Art & Design (Media Studies major), Vancouver, Canada
2003 - International Exchange Program - AKI Academy of Visual Arts (Monumental Kunst), Enschede, The Netherlands
1995 - Bachelor of Arts - University of British Columbia (Psychology and Sociology double major), Vancouver, Canada
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Endless Book Club
Self Publish Be Happy: The Royal College of Art MA Photography discusses Incoming by Richard Mosse (Mack Books 2017)
Tate Modern, London
Offprint London
Social Landscapes, 32 pages, 7x7" (edition of 200)
Tate Modern, London
Public RCA student exhibitions
Ongoing installations
#Windows187, Greenwich, London
Kurt Schwitters Merz Barn RCA Residency Exhibition
Cumbrian Woods, illuminated c-print, 48x60"
Lumen Studios, Bethnal Green, London
Offprint London
Untitled (Symbology), Hand-stitched felt book, 18 pages, 8x8x0.5" (edition of 1)
Tate Modern, London
Work in Progress Show
The Phonebox Departure (cocoon), lightbox w/chromogenic transparency, 48x60"
Royal College of Art, London
Figurative Nonsense
Come on, David / Come on David, vinyl text lettering (with Ken Lavey)
Windows Gallery, London
Get Living London
Queen's Woods, framed c-print, 30x40" (with Gavin Turk, Katherine May)
East Village Foyers, Stratford, London
Polaroid: Hipster Commodity or the Renaissance of Verity (The Rebirth of Photographic Truth)
Artist talk presented by The Redeye Network, Manchester
Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool
Polaroid Factory
3 chromogenic transparencies in lightboxes, each 48x60" & 3 perspex face-mounted c-prints, each 8x10"
Print House Gallery, London
Disstemma: Dialogue 5 - Never Against the Sun
ARP Site II (Upper Clapton), 9 lightboxes with original E6 transparency film, each 6x5x4"
Abbot Street Bunker, Hackney, London
Disstemma: Dialogue 4 - Vision Thing
Church Arch, Church Arch II (reprise), 2 lightboxes with duratrans, each 50x40"
Hackney Wicked Festival, Felsteade Gallery, London
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
Queen's Woods, c-print, 30x40"
Shipley Art Gallery, Newcastle
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
Queen's Woods, c-print, 30x40"
National Portrait Gallery, London
Disstemma: Dialogue 2 - Watching Shadows Against A Wall
Defeatured Landscapes 2 & 5, lightboxes with duratrans, 88x72" & 60x48"
Firemaster Gallery, Hither Green, London
Photographic Portrait Prize
Fourth of July (Wanting, Waiting), c-print, 30x40"
National Portrait Gallery, London
Photoconceptualism Is A Lifestyle
Twelve custom-framed t-shirts with felt lettering, each 2x15x15"
Eugene Choo, Vancouver
What the Deity Sees: An Experiment in Buddhist Psychology
Eight 24x24" colour-prints mounted on aluminium, hanging from ceiling, of people in particular stages of meditation
Emily Carr University Graduation Exhibition, Vancouver
The Home Show
The Tools He Used, c-print mounted on aluminium, 40x58"
ECUAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver
Waiver
Caught in the Act, Kodak metallic c-print mounted on aluminium, 40x50"
ECUAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver
International Exchange Exhibition
Caught in the Act, unmounted c-print, 30x40"
AKI Exhibition Hall, Enschede, the Netherlands
Stairwell: An Indoor Study of Light
Series of 2 framed c-prints, each 26x32"
Vancouver Shambhala Meditation Centre
Principles of Occupation (group exhibition with UBC MFA graduates)
The Hallway She Was Born, six unmounted c-prints, each 26x32"
UBC Fine Arts Gallery, Vancouver
(Another) Show of Books
Pedestrians, Buildings, Vehicles, hand-constructed, 16-page booklets, photographed on location in Romania and The Netherlands, each 0.5x4x5"
Overview Gallery, Vancouver
A Memorable Decline
The Hallway She Was Born, two c-prints, each 26x32"
ECUAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver
Photo-Hybrid
Bliss, USA, ten 3x4" c-prints on duratrans, mounted/illuminated in vintage light box, 4x8x16"
ECUAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver
WRITINGS & PRODUCTIONS
Front Magazine, Compromises, Volume XVII, No. 4, Vancouver, September 2004
Woo Magazine, The Politics of Tasting Bad Candy, critical essay, Issue 2, March 2004
Ripe Magazine, If They Only Knew, Issue 9, Vancouver, February 2004
The Good Jacket Presents…Vancouver Special! Curated this 24-song CD compilation of local pop music bands that played at the Good Jacket, from 1996-1999. CD went to #3 on Canadian college radio charts. Mint Records, Vancouver, 2000
PUBLICATIONS & REVIEWS
Rosalind Duguid, Eight Artists to Watch: MA and MFA Shows 2017, ELEPHANT: The Art Culture Magazine, August 2017
Emily Burns, Polaroid Factory, Photomonitor, 17 June 2013
Cherie Federico, Last Day to See Polaroid Factory, Aesthetica Magazine, 2 June 2013
Ansel Neckles, Sean Raggett: Polaroid Factory, Let's Be Brief, 16 May 2013
Ruben Hale, Vision Thing, Artycok Magazine, 27 August 2011
Pippa Wielgos, A New Identity: Decoding Portraiture, Aesthetica Magazine, Issue 35, June 2010
Lucy Davies, Pictures of the Year: The Photographers' Choice, The Telegraph, January 5th 2010
Clint Burnham, Critic’s Picks, Westcoast Life, Visual Art: Photoconceptualism Is A Lifestyle, Vancouver Sun, October 27th 2006
Ryan Witt, Portrait of an Artist, Georgia Straight, Vancouver, November 10th 2005
Mary Frances Hill, Artscetera, Westender, Vancouver, March 25th 2004
AWARDS
2017 – Awarded MA Distinction, Royal College of Art
2016 – Royal College of Art Bursary
2015 – Royal College of Art Bursary
2010 – Fujifilm Distinctions Awards
2004 – Credit Union Foundation of British Columbia Bursary
2003 – Emily Carr University of Art & Design Bursary
2003 – Credit Union Foundation of British Columbia Bursary
2002 – Fujifilm Professional Photography Challenge: Outstanding Achievement Award
2001 – BC Arts Council Tuition Scholarship Junior Award
2001 – Mary Catherine Gordon Memorial Scholarship
2001 – Marion V. Murray Memorial Scholarship