Alexandra Lethbridge

Alexandra Lethbridge (born 1987)^[1] is a Hong Kong-born conceptual artist working with photography and installation, living in the UK.^[2] She self-published The Meteorite Hunter in 2014, work from which was exhibited at The Photographers' Gallery in London.^[3] The Path of an Honest Man was exhibited at Format Festival in Derby^[4] and work from Other Ways of Knowing exhibited at The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in Moscow.^[5]

Early life and education

Lethbridge was born in Hong Kong.^[2] She studied at Winchester School of Art at the University of Southampton in the UK, and at the International Center of Photography in New York City. She earned a Masters in Photography from the University of Brighton in the UK.^[6]

Work

"By leaving out information, changing the scale of an image or altering colours, Lethbridge's photos make the viewer pause to wonder what exactly is going on."^[1]

The Meteorite Hunter "is an investigation into meteorites and the illusory realms they represent."^[7] "Meteorite hunters search for treasures from space, pushing aside the terrestrial in a quest for the alien. Alexandra Lethbridge sees their work as a metaphor for how people are too often chasing the exotic at the expense of the familiar. [. . . ] The photo book documents the work of a fictional meteorite prospector and the stunning otherworldly locales her objects come from. [. . . ] But here's the twist. The pictures depict the wonders of earth and space, but you don't know what's what."^[8]

Other Ways of Knowing "explores the notions of surprise and beguilement, creating a fantastical history that raises fascinating questions around how our perceptions can be guided, manipulated and fooled." "Lethbridge makes us think about the reliability of photography itself."^[9]

The Path of an Honest Man "looks at the misaligment between communication and understanding".^[4] The Archive of Gesture "utilises found images, still life photography and digital interventions to explore the role of gesture in communication".^[10][11]

Publications

Books of work by Lethbridge

• The Meteorite Hunter. Self-published, 2014.^[8][12]
  • Second edition. Self-published, 2014. ISBN 978-0993139413.
  • Third edition. Self-published, 2015. Edition of 150 copies. ISBN 978-0-9931394-2-0.

Books with contributions by Lethbridge

• Photography: the Key Concepts. Second, revised edition. Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire: Routledge. By David Bate. Hardback, 2016. ISBN 9780857854926. Paperback, 2016. ISBN 9781350107953.
• 1000 Words: 10 Years: 2008 – 2018. 1000 Words, 2018. ISSN 2631-486X.^[13]
• Unique: Making Photographs in the Age of Ubiquity. Self-published, 2018. By Katherine Oktober Matthews. ISBN 978-94-93075-01-6.
• 209 Women. Liverpool: Bluecoat, 2019. ISBN 9781908457523.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• The Path of an Honest Man, Format Festival, Derby, 2018^[4][14]
• The Construction of Truth, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, Southampton, 2020^[15]

Group exhibitions

• Mythopoesis, University of Brighton, Brighton, September 2014. University of Brighton MA Photography exhibition, included work from The Meteorite Hunter.^[7]
• Fresh Faced + Wild Eyed, The Photographers' Gallery, London, May–June 2015. Included work from The Meteorite Hunter.^[3]
• ING Unseen Talent Award: the Curator's Choice, The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow. Work by the winner and 5 shortlisted photographers of the ING Unseen Talent Award, included Lethbridge's Other Ways of Knowing.^[5][16]
• 209 Women, Portcullis House, Parliament of the United Kingdom, London, 2018/2019; Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool^[17][18][19]

Awards

• 2015: A winner, Flash Forward: Emerging photographers, Magenta Foundation, Toronto, Canada^[20]
• 2017: 1 of 5 shortlisted, ING Unseen Talent Award, from ING Group and Unseen Amsterdam.^[21][22] "Each of the finalists created an artwork for the ING Collection".^[23]
• 2017: A winner, Flash Forward: Emerging photographers, Magenta Foundation, Toronto, Canada^[24]
• 2021: Winner, Spotlight Award, Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast, UK, for The Archive of Gesture. A £2000 prize.^[10]