Colin Pantall
Lecturer, Photography MA
Colin Pantall is a writer, educator and photographer based in Bath.
He has written for a range of publications and organisations across the world including, Magnum Photos, The British Journal of Photography, World Press Photo, Foam, Aperture, The Far Eastern Economic Review. He also has a column on self-published photobooks in Source Magazine.
Colin co-wrote and edited Magnum China, wrote the British section for The History of European Photography, and has worked with text and image with photographers including Max Pinckers, Vincen Beeckman, Tessa Bunney, Amak Mahmoodian, and Cat Hyland.
He teaches on the Falmouth University Online Photography MA and runs independent online workshops linking contemporary photography to global, historical, and theoretical perspectives.
His photography focusses on domestic environments and family, and include his books Sofa Portraits, All Quiet on the Home Front, Sofa Portraits, and German Family Album, projects where the conflicting narratives of family, environmental and political histories collide.
In 2022, his image, My Parents in Woolley, was acquired for the collection of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
External Links
Qualifications
Qualifications
| Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Accepted as a Fellow of the HEA | |
| 2010 | Certificate in Education | University of Plymouth |
| 2006 | MA in Documentary Photography | University of Wales, Newport |
Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
My areas of research include family narratives and the role photography plays in the formation of our essentially unreliable family histories. My outputs connect to this through my projects, All Quiet on the Home Front (which looks at how landscape was integrated into my role of becoming a father), Sofa Portraits (which looks at the physical and psychological transformation of my daughter as she watched television) and Allotment Pictures (which looks at the multiple functions of our allotment both as a site of contemplation and immersion, as well as a site of botanical narratives that overlap with colonialism, the psychology of landscape, and national identities.
Research topics
Family, childhood, archives, albums, landscape, flora, photobooks, text and image, journalism.
Professional Engagement
Independent professional practice
October 2025: All Quiet on the Home Front, Duelab Gallery, Catania, Sicily
May 2023: Sofa Portraits published in Maria Claire, South Koread
June 2022: Parents Exhibition, Photomuseum Den Haag
December 2020: Brexit Pictures, Angkor Photo Festival
October 2020: Speaker, Bird in Flight Festival, Ukraine
November 2019: Moderator – Hunts of Memory Conference, with Maria Kapajeva, Dragana Jurisic, and Hannah Darabi
November 2019 – September 2020: Fellow of the Mekong Arts Hub/South East Asia Arts Network
July 2019: In Conversation with Martin Parr, Port Elliot, Devon
October 2018: All Quiet on the Home Front Presentation, with Emilie Lauwers, Valerio Alvarez and Marouissia Prignot as part of the Collaborative Working Talks, Recyclart Extra Fort, Brussels
October 2018: Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery
May 2018: Working Practice Presentation, with Laia Abril, Jon Uriarte and Julian Baron, Museo San Telmo, San Sebastian
September 2017: Member of the Artistic Committee - Gazebook: Manifestazione Internazionale del Fotolibro, Sicily. I gave a talk about my book, All Quiet on the Home Front, as well as leading a symposium on Politics, Photography and Change with Matthieu Asselin, Natalia Christie and Marco Paltrinieri.
January 2016: Speaker at It’s All in the Edit Symposium, UWE. Other speakers were Emma Bowkett (Financial Times Magazine Photo Editor) and Johnny Briggs
December 2016: On Empathy - With Magnum Photos at Barbican Centre, London. I gave a talk on my work and empathy with Jess Crombie of Save the Children and Olivia Arthur of Magnum Photos.
September 2016: Member of the Artistic Committee - Gazebook: Manifestazione Internazionale del Fotolibro, Sicily. I took part in an In-Conversation with Martin Parr.
June 2016: Creative Director, Photobook Bristol 2016: I curated, scheduled and organized speakers for Photobook Bristol 2016. I also wrote content and publicity materials for this very successful event. Speakers included Krass Clement, Martin Parr, Mariela Sancari, Mark Power, Laura El-Tantawy and Susan Meiselas.
November 2015: Curator of Sound, Word, Landscape: A day of talks and screenings at the Southbank Bristol looking at developments in the making, publication and exhibiting of landscape photography. Speakers include Jem Southam, Susan Derges, Ester Vonplon, Paul Gaffney and Angus Carlyle
September 2015: Member of the Artistic Committee - Gazebook: Manifestazione Internazionale del Fotolibro, Sicily: I helped organise and publicise this new festival. I also gave a talk on my own work, ran portfolio reviews and held a workshop with Alex Bocchetto of Akina Books
June 2015: Vienna Photobook Festival – I gave a lecture on Narrative and my Germany Family Album. I also ran portfolio reviews for the Festival Book Prize.
June 2015: Photobook Bristol 2015 – Workshop Leader: I led Carolyn Drake, Nicolo Degiorgis and Rudi Thoemmes in a workshop on book publishing
Engagement with professional associations and societies
- July-November 2022: Parents Exhibition, Fotomuseum Den Haag – My Parents walking in Woolley featured in this group exhibition on parents (and was purchased by the Kunstmuseum Den Haag)
- 2021- 2023: Engaged as a writer with Magnum Photos writing articles, interviews, and profiles covering the activities of their members
- 2022 - the present: Columnist on self-published photos for Source Magazine
- 2022 - the present: Photobook reviewer for PH Museum of Humanity
Professional esteem indicators
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2022 | My Parents in Woolley purchased by Kunstmuseum Den Haag |
