Dr Wendy McMurdo
Module leader, MA Photography
Wendy McMurdo is Module Leader for Final Project for the MA Photography at Falmouth. She is a widely exhibited photographer of international repute and has worked with some of the largest commissioning bodies in the UK. In 2018 she was named as one of the Hundred Heroines by The Royal Photographic Society, an initiative to showcase the best of global contemporary female photographic practice and reflect the amazing diversity of methodologies and approaches of different generations of women working within the medium.She specializes in photography and digital media and holds a doctorate by publication from University of Westminster for her photographic work exploring the impact of the computer on our collective identities. Her work is included in a number of major collections and has featured in a wide variety of exhibitions, including The Anagrammatical Body: The Body and its Photographic Condition, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, Uncanny, Fotomuseum Winterthur and Only Make Believe curated by Marina Warner for Compton Verney, Warwickshire, UK. In addition to her professional practice, she is an experienced educator.
She has held academic posts at University of Dundee and Edinburgh Napier University and research posts at the ECPR, University of Wales, Newport and University of Southampton. She is a board member for Stills, the National Centre for Photography in Scotland and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
External Links
Qualifications
Qualifications
Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
---|---|---|
2015 | PhD by Publication | University of Westminster |
1991 | MA | Goldsmith College, University of London |
1985 | BA (1st class) | Edinburgh College of Art |
Honors and awards
Year | Description |
---|---|
2014 | Visual Arts Bursary, Creative Scotland |
2010 | Leverhulme Research Fellowship (2010 - 2012) |
2010 | Honorary Research Fellow, European Centre for Photographic Research (ECPR), University of Wales |
2006 | Research Fellow in Photography, Edinburgh Napier University (2006 - 2009) |
2000 | Leverhulme Special Research Fellow (2000-2002) |
2000 | Creative Scotland Award |
1993 | Henry Moore Research Fellowship (1993-95) |
2018 | Royal Scottish Academy Member Elect |
2018 | Hundred Heroine Award, Royal Photographic Society |
Membership of external committees
Board Member, Stills Gallery, Edinburgh (2017 to present)Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
In my studio practice, I explore the ways in which developments in technology have directly impacted on the ways we picture and describe ourselves. Since the mid 90s, I’ve documented and explored the ways in which we have slowly evolved into the networked, social beings we are today. This ongoing research has resulted in many collaborations, screenings, exhibitions and writings on this subject both here and abroad. I enjoy working in a collaborative setting and in interdisciplinary environments and have a special interest in collaborations within the scientific communities. In recent years I’ve moved beyond traditional lens-based photography to work with 3d rendering applications. I often use digital applications in conjunction with more traditional genres (i.e. studio portraiture) to explore the impact of technologies on gaming and imaginative play.Research Topics
- Digital Culture
- contemporary photographic practice
- Representations of Childhood and Adolescence in Contemporary Culture
Research Outputs
Publications and research outputs
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Hopkins, David and McMurdo, Wendy
(2021), Interview with David Hopkins for the concluding chapter of his 2021 publication 'Dark Toys - Surrealism and the Culture of Childhood (Yale Press), In: Dark Toys - surrealism and the culture of childhood, Yale Press, USA, pp. 286-292, ISBN: 9780300225747, Item availability may be restricted. -
McMurdo, Wendy, Lyden, Ann, Rutherford, Samantha, Fox, Anna and Fast Forward Women in Photography
(2022), Chapter - Putting Ourselves in the Picture, In: Putting Ourselves in the Picture, Trolley Books, UK, pp. 168-223, ISBN: ISBN 978-1-907112-69-0, Item availability may be restricted.
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McMurdo, Wendy
(2020), 'Florilegium: A gathering of flowers'- Inverleith House, Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh. Sep 16th – Dec 13th 2020, In: 'Florilegium: A gathering of flowers'- Inverleith House, Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh. Sep 16th – Dec 13th 2020, Sep 16th – Dec 13th 2020, Inverleith House, Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh -
McMurdo, Wendy
(2017), When We Were Young - Opening talk with Wendy McMurdo at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and accompanying group show of the same name ( 14th Oct - 13th May 2018), In: Keynote lecture, 1st Nov 2017, Hawthornden Galleries, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, (Unpublished), Item availability may be restricted. -
McMurdo, Wendy
(2017), Indeterminate Objects (classrooms). A solo digital commission for the Photographers Gallery, London (Oct 2017- Jan 2018), In: Indeterminate Objects (classrooms), 6th Oct 2017- 12th Jan 2018, The Photographers Gallery, Ramilies Street, London, UK, Item availability may be restricted. -
McMurdo, Wendy
(2017), Photographic work exhibited in 'ON AIME L'ART.. !' Collection Lambert, Avignon, France, In: ON AIME L'ART.. !' Works from the Agnes B Collection, Collection Lambert, Avignon, France, 6 July - 5 November 2017, Collection Lambert, Avignon, France -
McMurdo, Wendy
(2017), Let's Go to a Place: in Gravitas, group show curated by Christiane Monarchi for Photo50, London Art Fair 2017 and related symposium on collaboration and photography, In: Gravitas - Photo 50, 18-22 Jan 2017, London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH -
McMurdo, Wendy
(2014), 'Digital Play: Wendy McMurdo Collected Works 1995–2012' Mid-career retrospective Solo exhibition Jun-Aug 2014, In: ‘Digital Play: Wendy McMurdo Collected Works 1995 – 2012’, 28th June - 17th Aug 2014, Streetlevel Photoworks, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, Item availability may be restricted. -
McMurdo, Wendy
(2022), 'L’Enfance dans la collection Agnès b' (Group exhibition), In: L’Enfance dans la collection Agnès b, 24th Feb - 30 June 2022, Paris, France
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Alexander, Jesse
McLeod, Gary, Cosgrove, Steph, Sank, Michelle, McMurdo, Wendy, Fontoura, Catarina, Brett, Karen and Pfab, Anna-Maria, (2019), The Living Image: Falmouth Flexible Photography Symposium 2019, Falmouth University
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McMurdo, Wendy
(2018), UNSEEN Living Room: Film & Foto, In: Unseen Photo Festival, 22nd Sept 2018, Amsterdam, Netherlands, (Unpublished) -
McMurdo, Wendy
(2018), Photographer talk: Wendy McMurdo, In: Public Lecture to launch NEPN's Arts Council funded 'Observe, Experiment, Archive' series, 25th April 2018, NEPN, Newcastle
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McMurdo, Wendy and National Galleries of Scotland
(2018), Wendy McMurdo: The Digital Mirror
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McMurdo, Wendy and Edinburgh Printmakers
(2023), Fledglings
Externally funded research grants information
Collaborators | Currency | Funder | HESA Category | Project title | Value | Year ending | Year starting |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Creative Scotland | Visual Arts Bursary | 5000 | |||||
Leverhulme | Research Fellowship | 25000 | 2012 | 2010 | |||
Leverhulme | Special research Fellowship | 50000 | 2009 | 2006 | |||
Creative Scotland | Creative Scotland Award | 15000 | 2000 | ||||
Henry Moore Foundation | Research Fellow | 25000 | 1995 | 1993 |
Events
2018
Artists Talk, North East Photo Network, Lecture series exploring contemporary photography in relation to science and technology. May 2018
Events
2018
Artists Talk and panel discussion, National Galleries of Scotland Research Conference, March 2017
Events
2017
'How to Create Magic - an artist's view' (Artists talk and panel discussion), Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), London
Events
2017
Opening Lecture, 'When we were Young', Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, Nov 2017.
Events
Events
2015
Public Lecture, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London
Events
2017
Public Lecture, School of Fine Art, University of Dundee
Teaching
Areas of teaching
- Photography
- Photographic Theory
- Contemporary Practice
- Art History
Courses taught
- Final Major Project module (design and delivery), MA Photography
Professional Engagement
Professional esteem indicators
Year | Description |
---|---|
2018 | Appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy |
2018 | In 2018 I was named as one of the Hundred Heroines by The Royal Photographic Society, an initiative to showcase the best of global contemporary female photographic practice and reflect the amazing diversity of methodologies and approaches of different generations of women working within the medium. |