Esther Johnson
Photographer
Esther Johnson (MA, Royal College of Art) is an artist and filmmaker whose works sit at the intersection of artist moving image and documentary practice. Through film, sound, photography, and archival materials, Esther’s work explores overlooked and marginalised social histories, foregrounding narratives of community, resistance, and the making of place. Central to her practice is an engagement with absence and omission in the historical record, examining how power shapes which stories are told, preserved, or silenced. She frequently reworks archival materials and oral histories, exploring the complex relationships between cultural heritage, memory, testimony, and storytelling.
Esther’s work has been exhibited internationally in over 40 countries. Screenings and exhibitions include the Barbican Centre; BFI London Film Festival; CPH:DOX; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Hull 2017 UK City of Culture; Index - The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation; Istanbul Biennial; Manzi, Hanoi; NASA; The New Art Gallery Walsall; Sheffield Doc/Fest; Tate; and the Venice Biennale. Her film and audio works have been broadcast on the BBC and Channel 4.
She was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Research Prize in Performing and Visual Arts, and is currently Professor of Film and Media Arts at Sheffield Hallam University, UK.