Patrick Shanahan
I studied Fine Art at Stourbridge College of Art before going on to complete an MA and PhD in Photography at the Royal College of Art in London. My work has been published and exhibited widely in the UK and abroad. I was elected a member of the Newlyn Society of Artists in 2025.
I usually work on several long-term photography projects at once, often over many years. Sometimes they are published or exhibited, other times they gestate over decades before seeing the light of day.
When my current project, Face In Time is complete it will have been fifty years in the making. The project explores the social and cultural aspects of modern living, and the aesthetic nature of photographic portraiture itself. It also pays homage to August Sander’s seminal book, Antlitz der Zeit (Face of Our Time), first published in 1929.
Sander’s book attempted to portray the complexity of German people and society in the early 20th Century, no matter their ethnicity, religion, wealth, income, social status or occupation. It shows difference and diversity in German society of this period and not the idealised notion of an Aryan race. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 they destroyed the plates, burnt all available copies of the book and Sander himself faced intimidation and persecution.
All the black & white images from Face In Time have been made using a large-format 5″x4″ plate camera on a tripod. Working this way means the sitter engages directly with the activity of being photographed and can present themselves as they wish to be seen. Somewhat akin to painting or drawing, it is a slow and deliberate process.
When complete, this project will cover a fifty year period, from the latter part of the 20th Century to the first part of the 21st Century – 1979-2029. 2029 will also be the centenary anniversary of Sander’s Antlitz der Zeit.
EDUCATION
2001 PhD by Project, Royal College of Art, London
1982 MA Photography, Royal College of Art, London
1979 BA(Hons) Fine Art, Stourbridge College of Art
1976 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, Warrington College of Art
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1979-Present Full-time artist-photographer. Working on commissioned and self initiated projects for art exhibitions and publications.
1994-2019 Senior Lecturer in Photography, Falmouth University (formally Falmouth College of Art).
2009-2011 Award and Subject Examiner, FdA Photography and Digital Imaging, Truro & Penwith College/University of Plymouth.
1993-1994 Part-time Lecturer in Photography, Herefordshire College of Art and Design.
1990-1993 Visiting Lecturer in Photography, Staffordshire University, Stourbridge College of Art, and Wirral Metropolitan College, Merseyside.
1982-1994 Professional Advertising and Editorial Photographer, London. Worked for 12 years in publishing, for such periodicals and organisations as The Observer Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, The Royal Academy, the Crafts Council, the Design Council as well as numerous architectural magazines.
1979-1980 Lecturer in Photography, Hugh Baird College, Bootle, Merseyside.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 ‘Rupture’, Kestle Barton Gallery, Helston, Cornwall UK, 30th May – 17th July
2006 ‘Paradeisos’, Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth UK, 4th March - 15th April
2005 ‘Paradeisos’, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales UK, 9th July - 3rd September
‘Paradeisos’, Ffotogallery, Cardiff, Wales UK, 9th April - 22nd May
2004 ‘Esperantis’, Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, Wales UK, 20th November - 15th January 2005
‘Esperantis’, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton UK, 6th July - 28th August
‘Esperantis’, MAC, Birmingham UK, 24th January - 14th March
2003 ‘Esperantis’, ‘Patio de Escuelas’, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain, 1st October - 23rd November
‘Esperantis’, TEN Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall UK, 16th August - 6th September
‘Esperantis’, ‘Sala Zapaterías, 40’, Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain, 18th March - 20th April
‘Esperantis’, Galería Antonio de Barnola, Barcelona, Spain, 27th February - 29th March
2002 ‘Esperantis’, Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool UK, 26th October - 30th November
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 ‘Eye of The Lens’, Newlyn Society of Artists, curated by Mark Kermode, Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall UK, 27th March - 19th April
‘Newlyn Society of Artists - St Clare Medical Centre Project’, St Clare Medical Centre, Penzance UK, 15th March - March 2027
2025 ‘RWA 172 Annual Open Exhibition’, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol UK, 6th September - 28th December
‘Perspectives - Newlyn Society of Artists’, Tremenheere Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall UK, 17th October - 2nd November
2018 ‘Found in Falmouth’, Falmouth Art Gallery, Cornwall UK, A single-channel video installation entitled ‘Fal’, 10 minutes, 20th January - 10th February
2011 'In Abundance', Kestle Barton Gallery, Helston, Cornwall UK, 2nd July - 29th August
2009 ‘The Open West 2009’, Summerfield Gallery, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham UK, 20th February – 27th March
‘The New Landscape’, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, Cornwall UK, 17th January – 14th March
London Art Fair, Contemporary Art Projects, London UK, 14th – 18th January
2008 ‘Through the Lens’, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol UK, 8th June - 20th July
‘Where Are We? Questions of Landscape’, Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery UK, 3rd May - 28th June
‘Falmouth University Academics’, The Poly at Falmouth, Cornwall UK, 10th May - 24th May
2007 ‘Where Are We? Questions of Landscape’, The Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield UK, 21st September - 5th January 2008
‘A Momentary Presence’, shown as a video projection with music, at Jazzga and Manufaktura Plaza, Lodz, Poland, during the Lodz Fotofestiwal, 18th - 19th May
‘From Where You Stand’, Independent Photographers Gallery, Battle UK, 3rd February - 17th March
2003 ‘La Ciutat Que Mai No Existí: Arquitectures fantàstiques en l’art occidental’, Centre de Cultura Contemporània, Barcelona, Spain, 24th October - 1st February 2004
‘Explorafoto 2003: IV Festival de Fotografía de Castilla y León’, Salamanca, Spain, 1st - 31st October
‘Images Against War - a visual statement by 402 artists’, Galerie Lichtblick, Köln, Germany, 28th February - 7th June and then international tour
2001 'Esperantis', Royal College of Art Show, London UK. 1st June - 10th June
PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS
2005-2007 ‘Princesshay Commission’, Exeter: Land Securities Ltd and InSiteArts Ltd. Three photo-based works: ancient+modern I, 5m x 30m PVC banner consisting of 6 photoimages, sited in Broadwalk Gardens, Exeter UK;
ancient+modern II, 6 Perspex laminated photo-images sited at the Archaeological Visitors Centre, Exeter UK;
Riverwalk, a continuously changing exhibit of 72 Duratrans mounted in 12 light-boxes, situated in Paris Street, Exeter UK.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY (Reviews, Journals, Catalogues, Books and Web)
2011 'Patrick Shanahan, Rupture photographs, 2010', Super Massive Black Hole, issue 8/2011 'Scarred Landscape' (ISSN 2009-2288), pp.32-40 (9 photographs and short text)
2009 ‘Rupture’, driftingwest.co.uk, issue 1, September 2009 (3 photographs and statement)
2008 ‘An Uncanny Reality’, David Brittain, Eye, vol.18, Autumn 2008 (Image Portfolio Supplement), front-cover & pp.4 – 9, 40 (8 photographs and essay)
Ancient+Modern, Yolanda Szredski (ed.), (InSite Arts Limited, Harbury), exhibition catalogue, (ISBN 978-0-9547300-4-8), pp.38-47 (7 photographs and text)
2007 ‘Patrick Shanahan A Momentary Presence - Tales from New Europe’, Joanna Lowry, Portfolio, no.46, November (ISSN 1354-4446), pp.16-23 (8 photographs and essay)
2006 Twilight: Photography in the Magic Hour, Martin Barnes and Kate Best, (Merrell Publishers Ltd, London), exhibition catalogue (ISBN-13:978-1-8589-4353-4), pp.21(1 photograph and short text)
2005 ‘Artificial Paradise’, Jonathan Clarkson, Planet, no.171, June/July, pp.121-23 (exhibition review and 2 photographs)
“Paradeisos’ Patrick Shanahan’, Jesse Alexander, Source, no.43, Summer, p.61 (exhibition review and 1 photograph)
“Paradeisos’ Patrick Shanahan’, Kate O’Leary, Buzz, May, p.36 (exhibition review and 1 photograph)
‘Digging the scene’, Stephen Foster, Western Mail, 29th April, pp.14-15 (exhibition review and 5 photographs)
2004 ‘‘Esperantis’ Patrick Shanahan’, Rhia Lewis, Buzz, November 2004, p.34 (exhibition review and 1 photograph)
‘Patrick Shanahan, Southampton’, Jessica Lack, The Guardian: The Guide, July 10-16, p.37 (exhibition review and 1 photograph)
Mooch Manual, plates 47 - 50, (Facto Ltd.) (4 photographs)
2003 ‘Cuatro visiones de la fotografía en Explorafoto 2003’, El Mundo de Castilla y Leon, 7 de Octubre (exhibition review and 2 photographs)
‘La vuelta al espacio urbano en estado puro con “Esperantis”’, La Gaceta, 2 de Octubre (exhibition review and 1 photograph)
‘Fotos de paisajes irreconocibles Ilenan el Patio de Escuelas’, El Adelanto, 2 de Octubre (exhibition review and 1 photograph)
Explorafoto 2003: IV Festival de Fotografía de Castilla y León, ed. David Arranz, (Festival de Fotografía de Castilla y León), October 2003 (exhibition catalogue, pp.44-57, 6 photographs and text by F. Javier Panera Cuevas)
‘Soma, Esperantis’, Paul Tebbs, Source, no.35, Summer, pp.62-65 (book review and 1 photograph)
‘Cornwall’s corny image upturned’, British Journal of Photography, vol.150, no.7424, April 10th, p.11 (1 photograph with caption)
‘La sala Zapatería, 40 de Iruñea acoge la muestra “Esperantis”, de Shanahan’, Gara: Kultura, 2003 martxoa - 19 asteazkena, p.57 (exhibition review)
‘Patrick Shanahan fotografía playas asoladas por el ocio’, Diario de Navarra, 19 de Marzo, p.37 (exhibition review and 1 photograph)
‘Shanahan documenta la transformación de las playas y costas en espacios de ocio’, Diario de Noticias, 19 de Marzo, p.42 (exhibition review and 2 photographs)
Esperantis, Patrick Shanahan, F. Javier Panera, David Brittain, (Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, Ayuntamiento de Pamplona), March 2003 (45 photographs and biography) ISBN No.: 84-7800-716-4
'Take Me, I'm Yours', Francesca Gavin, ArtReview, December/January 2003, vol.LIV, pp.68-83 (1 photograph with caption)
2002 'Esperantis, Liverpool', Robert Clark, The Guardian: Guide, November 2-8, p.34 (preview and 1 photograph)
'Esperantis', EXIT, no.4, Spring/Summer, pp.58-69 (6 photographs)
2001 Royal College of Art Show 2001, Royal College of Art, p.29 (1 photograph and biographical details)
Esperantis: Theorising the Post-Landscape, London: Royal College of Art, 2001 (doctoral thesis including 36 photographs)
2000 'Esperantis', Portfolio, no.32, December, pp.56-59 (4 photographs and biographical details)
'Esperantis', Hotshoe International, no.111, November/December, pp.14-16 (5 photographs with artist statement)
'Italian Cultural Landscape of the Modern Period', History of Photography, vol.24, no.3, Autumn, pp.190-228 (guest editorship, including introduction and biographical details)
AWARDS
2008 Shortlisted for the Man Group Photography Prize 2008, Royal College of Art, London UK
2004 Arts Council England, ‘Grants for the Arts’ (A Momentary Presence project)
2003 Arts Council England, ‘Grants for the Arts’ (Paradeisos project)
Paradeisos shortlisted for the 2003 Jerwood Photography Awards
Arts Council England, ‘Awards for Artists’ Funding for New Europe project
2002 Esperantis shortlisted for the European Publishers Award for Photography
Research Award from Falmouth College of Arts towards exhibition catalogue of landscape photography
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Arts Council England
The Crafts Council
English Heritage
Falmouth University
Ffotogallery
Kestle Barton
National Library of Wales
National Media Museum
Open Eye Gallery
The Royal Academy of Arts
Royal Cornwall Museum
University of Southampton
Victoria & Albert Museum