Sue Parkhill's photography possesses an immediate poetry that speaks directly to the heart, combining spontaneous and instinctive work with sensitivity and pictorial use of light while remaining anchored in an irresistible and compelling reality. Each image appears freshly observed, filled with empathy and a quiet breadth of vision that captures viewers' attention through its authentic portrayal of everyday moments.
Born and raised in Australia, Parkhill moved to London thirty years ago during a time when the only reliable way to navigate the city was through the famous A-Z guide. "Everyone had one," she recalls. "It showed the way." This experience became the foundation for her current work, which she describes as her own visual A-Z guide. "This work is my own visual A-Z: photos taken over the years during my travels to Australia - my personal map, a record of memory and desire, so I can always find my way home," Parkhill explains.
With subtle humor and straightforward curiosity, Parkhill's photography explores people and the changing world around her. She captures the fragile beauty of the ordinary, finding meaning in fleeting details that would otherwise go unnoticed. For her, photography serves as both a tool for navigating life and a means of interpreting it. "It's an extension of my personality," she says. "It's what I am."
Parkhill's images are consistently original, full of spirit, and penetrating in their observation. Her work has been exhibited across Europe, North America, and Australia, establishing her reputation as a significant contemporary photographer. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the prestigious Royal College of Art and was selected among PDN's 30, a recognition that highlights emerging talent in photography. Additionally, she has been nominated twice among the top ten British photographers by Campaign magazine.
Beyond her artistic practice, Parkhill has undertaken meaningful commission work for international organizations including UNICEF and Farm Africa. She has also led photography workshops for the British Council in Azerbaijan and Nigeria, sharing her expertise and vision with aspiring photographers in diverse cultural contexts. These experiences have further enriched her understanding of visual storytelling and cross-cultural communication through photography.
For the A-Z exhibition, Parkhill's images are named and presented in alphabetical order, forming columns on the wall that create a long, organic line. The printed titles themselves compose a poem - a lyrical index that guides viewers' eyes through this intimate map of memory. This thoughtful curation transforms the gallery space into a navigational experience, mirroring the original A-Z guides that inspired the project.
Parkhill's A-Z ultimately represents a cartography of emotion - a journey through places, memory, and belonging that serves as a tender testament to photography's power to bring us home. The exhibition demonstrates how personal navigation tools can become universal languages of human experience, connecting viewers to their own memories of place and displacement through carefully observed moments of beauty and recognition.
