Sam Pierce, Born 2005, Shropshire, UK​

I am a photographic artist and a recent first-class photography graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University. I have been making images since the age of 14. 

During the 2020 pandemic, I began photographing the local area I was confined to, an environment I initially perceived as mundane, overfamiliar, and lacking in subject. At the time, I resisted its banality. However, this period became formative in shaping my practice. 

I now work to challenge these early perceptions of the everyday, reimagining familiar environments. My practice is driven by an interest in what William Eggleston described as ‘shooting democratically’, treating all subjects with equal attention and potential. 

My work is made across a range of environments, whether on the street or in more natural landscapes. Wherever I make photographs, I aim to reveal overlooked qualities within place, drawing out human and emotive traces that may not be immediately visible. In doing so, I am interested in re-presenting the world in a way that encourages viewers to reconsider what they might otherwise turn a blind eye to. 

Alongside this, I have a strong interest in publishing and curation. I am interested in how meaning shifts when photographs are presented in different ways, and how a single image can communicate one idea, but take on new readings when placed in with others.  

My ethos as an artist can also be simplified into a desire to make work that I enjoy looking at.