Jo Spence (1934-1992) was a Photographer, Writer, Teacher and Workshop Organiser. She pioneered a range of photographic practices from work on self-image and the family Album to the uses of photography as a therapeutic and political tool. She was a prolific writer and television performer and also very much in demand as a lecturer. Her book Putting Myself in the Picture (Camden Press 1986) inspired and empowered a whole generation of women photographers. Her unique contribution to photography: the invigorating combination of an oppositional stance with an exploratory and playful spirit, was documented in the seminal publication Cultural Sniping: The Art of Transgression (Routledge, 1995). She believed that everyday life is the fundamental source of all meaningful art - photography is a tool that can be used by everyone in any situation for self-knowledge, personal growth and above all for Social Criticism.

Jo Spence’s engagement with a range of photographic genres, from documentary to photo-therapy was captured in this exhibition organised by Street Level and Terry Dennett, curator of the Jo Spence Memorial Archive.

"...Works from the Archive" included a partial selection (10) from her early high street studio work in the mid-70's where she specialised in weddings, portraiture (including a rare contact print of her contemporary Susan Sontag), actors’ portfolios and legal work. Ten works from the mid-80's (works from the mid-80s) represent her critically acknowledged work on self-image, class and health in collaboration with a number of people including her last partner, the late David Roberts.

In 1982 Spence was diagnosed as having breast cancer and began what was her most difficult and innovative work on the applications of photography as a visual therapy, and an alternative to drugs and mainstream physiotherapy in the management of the emotional aspects of cancer. In collaboration with Rosy Martin (and later others) she developed a non-institutional form of phototherapy designed specifically to be used by non-professionals. Throughout the 1980s she combined her teaching and photographic work with extensive research on her alternative health programme. Her documentation of her struggles with cancer gave a whole generation of women the courage and permission to ‘come out’ and tell their own stories.

In 1990, she was diagnosed as having chronic lymphatic leukaemia and at this time, in collaboration with Terry Dennett, embarked on what was to be her last photographic work: The Final Project, an exploration of life and death based upon the attitudes of different cultures to death.

The exhibition included 15 newly presented and framed prints which illustrate her allegorical approach using 'substitute selves' in the form of dolls, toy skeletons and masks combined with 'photo-fantasy', a method of projecting images onto existing photographs and of sandwiching two slides together. This magical realism, whilst crude in its approach, produced some poignant and lyrical artwork which predates the layering commonly used in digital imaging today.

Documentation from the many collectives she helped establish - Photography Workshop, Half Moon, Camerawork magazine, the Hackney Flashers and the Polysnappers were available to peruse, plus a number of publications and posters which frame her socially engaged practice.

In April 2005, Belfast Exposed staged 'Beyond the Family Album and Other Projects.' This exhibition at Street Level was the second recent staging of work which aimed to recognise her legacy and reactivate her practice in the present.

Street Level worked with Glasgow Womens Library on a series of workshops based on issues raised within the exhibition and these resulted in a number of self produced photographic artworks.

The slideshow below features documentation of the exhibition itself together with a selection of the images that were included in the show. You will also see documentation from the workshops and their outcomes. To view further images from the workshops follow the link on the right hand navigation menu.