Polly Borland

Photographer

Polly Borland is a an Australian photographer. Borland moved to the UK in 1989 and developed a reputation for specialising in stylised portraiture and offbeat reportage. In the nineties she worked regularly for UK and US publications including the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Independent and Dazed & Confused.

In 1994 she won the prestigious John Kobal Photographic Portrait Award. Her work has appeared in numerous exhibitions, and a selection of photographs from her book The Babies was exhibited at the South Bank’s Meltdown Festival in 1999, curated that year by Nick Cave.

The National Portrait Gallery in London and Australia have acquired a number of Borland’s photographs for its collection, and in 2000 both exhibited a solo show of her work. Powerhouse published her first book The Babies in 2001 with an essay by Susan Sontag. In that same year she was one of eight chosen photographers to photograph the Queen for her Golden Jubilee.

Borland collaborated with Lauren Child on two children’s books for Puffin, reworking the fairytales The Princess and the Pea, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Michael Hoppen Contemporary exhibited her Bunny project in August 2008 – a series of portraits of English actress Gwendoline Christie. A book of this work was published by Other Criteria that same year.

In 2011, Borland moved to Los Angeles where she is now based.

Polly Borland is a an Australian photographer. Borland moved to the UK in 1989 and developed a reputation for specialising in stylised portraiture and offbeat reportage. In the nineties she worked regularly for UK and US publications including the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Independent and Dazed & Confused.

In 1994 she won the prestigious John Kobal Photographic Portrait Award. Her work has appeared in numerous exhibitions, and a selection of photographs from her book The Babies was exhibited at the South Bank’s Meltdown Festival in 1999, curated that year by Nick Cave.

The National Portrait Gallery in London and Australia have acquired a number of Borland’s photographs for its collection, and in 2000 both exhibited a solo show of her work. Powerhouse published her first book The Babies in 2001 with an essay by Susan Sontag. In that same year she was one of eight chosen photographers to photograph the Queen for her Golden Jubilee.

Borland collaborated with Lauren Child on two children’s books for Puffin, reworking the fairytales The Princess and the Pea, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Michael Hoppen Contemporary exhibited her Bunny project in August 2008 – a series of portraits of English actress Gwendoline Christie. A book of this work was published by Other Criteria that same year.

In 2011, Borland moved to Los Angeles where she is now based.

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