Fiona Crisp is an artist who has become known for creating installations of large-scale photographs that question the ontological presence of the photographic image. 

Her works are often generated by spending intensive periods of time in particular locations, recent projects having involved working in the Early Christian catacombs of Rome and a Second World War underground military hospital in the Channel Islands. What unites these apparently disparate sites is that, contrary to their historic purpose that allowed access to a defined group of users, they have now been opened up as tourist sites where the boundaries between heritage, leisure and historical truth become inevitably blurred.

Crisp completed a postgraduate degree at The Slade School of Fine Art, London in 1993 and since this time has exhibited both nationally and internationally, recently showing works under the title Hyper Passive at Matt’s Gallery, London and in the group show You Shall Know Our Velocity at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead.   In 1999/2000 she spent a period of time working in the North East of England whilst on the Berwick Gymnasium Fellowship.  Since then she has spent time working in Norway and in Rome where she

held a Wingate Scholarship at The British School. 

In 2006 Crisp undertook a residency based at the 18th Century landscape gardens at Stourhead, jointly commissioned by the British School at Rome and the National Trust that looked at the relationship between Classicism and The Contemporary. 

More recent exhibitions have included Ruination: Photographs of Rome at the Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham where her work was shown alongside Richard Billingham, John Riddy and Olivo Barbieri.  In 2008 Crisp’s work was nominated for both the European Sovereign Art Prize and the Northern Art Prize www.northernartprize.org

Fiona Crisp’s work will be shown May-August at Foto Graphia, International Photography Festival in Rome and in July a major solo touring exhibition of her work, Subterrania will launch at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead before travelling to Impressions Gallery, Bradford and Newlyn Gallery, Cornwall.  

A monograph entitled Hyper Passive surveying Crisp’s work over the last 10 years is due to be published in June by Matt’s Gallery, London. The book will include an essay by Professor Christopher Townsend of London University and an interview with Alessandro Vincentelli, Acting Head of Programme at BALTIC.

Crisp is currently a part-time Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Northumbria University.  Previously she has taught at Camberwell, Universtiy of the Arts, London (2002-3) as well as being a visiting lecturer at several institutions including The Slade, Winchester, Coventry, Derby, Sunderland and Newcastle University.  She is presently external assessor for Crawford College, Cork, The Republic of Ireland (2007-2009).  Board memberships include Camerawork, London (1998-9) and photoNORTH, Newcastle (2004-5). 

Fiona Crisp’s work is represented by Matt’s Gallery, London and is held in the collections of The Tate Gallery, The Government Art Collection, The Arts Council Collection, Worcester City Art Gallery and private collections.

Still Films 1999 Installation view. Camerawork, London.

Santa Maria 2003 Installation view.Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth.

Berwick Series 2000 Installation view. Matt's Gallery, London.

Subterrania Solo touring exhibition.

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead July-Oct

Impressions Gallery, Bradford, Nov-Jan 2010

Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall Feb-April 2010

Recent Solo Exhibitions

Recent Group Exhibitions

Ruination: Photographs of Rome Wrigly, Richard.

Pub. Djanogly Art Gallery, Nottingham

ISBN 978-1-900809-51-1

The Berwick Gymnasium Fellowships an Archival Record Ed. King, Judith

Pub. English Heritage & Arts Editions North ISBN 978-0-9557478-1-6

Tate Gallery Collection, Arts Council Collection, Hayward Gallery, London,

The Government Art Collection, Worcester City Art Gallery & Private Collections.