Alys Tomlinson

Alys Tomlinson grew up in Brighton, England. She studied photography at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and has an MA (Distinction) in Anthropology from SOAS, University of London. She lives and works in London.

Her projects are often research-led. Alys is most interested in the relationship between people and place, exploring themes of environment, belonging, and identity. Her most recent series ‘Lost Summer’ consists of portraits of young adults dressed and ready to attend their proms which were cancelled as a result of the pandemic. Instead of the usual setting of the school or hotel halls, the portraits were taken in their gardens and backyards in North London.

An earlier body of work ‘Ex-Voto’ explores the pilgrimage sites of Lourdes (France), Ballyvourney (Ireland), and Grabarka (Poland). ‘Ex-Voto’ encompasses formal portraiture, large format landscape, and small, detailed still-life shots of the objects and markers left behind. Both of the series were published as photobooks – Lost Summer in 2020 and Ex-Voto in 2019.