Distend
Distend explores trauma, landscape and the body, rooted in Polly’s experience with Crohn’s disease. Using trauma-informed techniques, she positions her body as subject and metaphor while landscapes act as bodily proxies.
Polly Hardwicke
Photography 2025
Polly Hardwicke is a photographer based in Bristol. Her practice explores the individual's relationship to both society and to themselves. rooted in her own experience, in most recent years, she has focused on interrogating perceptions around individual experience of chronic illness. Her work is socially conscious, highlighting the power of community in care practices and promoting alternative modes of healing. She uses photography as a therapeutic tool, aiming to provide connection for both the sitter and photographer. She incorporates traditional studio techniques, using portraiture and still life whilst drawing parallels between local landscapes and the body. Her work explores the narrative power of photography in exploring themes such as care, memory and representation.
pollyhardwicke@yahoo.com https://www.pollyhardwicke.co.uk →
From the series Distend, collaborations with others facing chronic illness foster shared healing. The images reclaim control, offer catharsis, and propose an alternative model for recovery.
