Half Moon Photography Workshop (HMPW) and co-
founded Camerawork magazine, 1975–1976. Split from
HMPW 1976. Member of the Hackney Flashers, wo-
men’s photography group from 1977. Photography/Pol-
itics editorial group from 1977. Secretary at British Film
Institute, 1977–1989. BA in Film & Photography at the
Polytechnic of Central London, and part of Polysnappers,
1979–1982. Developed breast cancer, had lumpectomy,
and opted for alternative health treatment, 1982. Created
phototherapy with Rosy Martin, 1983. Retrospective
exhibition at Camerawork, 1985.Arena, television pro-
grammes, 1986 and 1987. Publication of first bookPut-
ting Myself in the Picture, 1986. Keynote speech at
National Photography Conference, 1987. Working free-
lance as lecturer, writer, and facilitator, 1989. Joined
Educated Working Class Women’s Group, 1989. Tour
of Australia and the United States, and recurrence of
breast cancer and development of leukaemia, 1990. Glas-
gow New Gallery establishedThe Jo Spence Room, 1990.
Video Diarymade for television, 1991. Married David
Roberts 1992. Died in Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead,
London June 24, 1992. Jo Spence Memorial Archive
established, 1994.Individual exhibitions
1985 Review of Work 1950–1985; Camerawork; London
and touring
1990 Jo Spence—Collaborative Works; exhibition touring
Australia and the United States
1994 Jo Spence: Matters of Concern; Royal Festival Hall;
London and touring
1995 The Cancer Project; Melkweg Gallery; Amsterdam
Group exhibitions
1979 Women and Work in Hackney; Hackney Flashers-
Who’s Holding the Baby; Hackney Flashers
Three Perspectives on Photography; Hayward Gallery;
London
1982 Family, Fantasy, Photography; Polytechnic of Central
London; London
The Picture of Health; Photography Workshop; Lon-
don
1985 The Photography Road Show; Photography Work-
shop; London and traveling
1987 Double Exposure—the Minefield of Memory; The
Photographers’ Gallery; London
Body Politics; The Photographers’ Gallery; London
1989 Great Expectations; Islington Libraries; London
1991 Missing Persons/Damaged Lives; Leeds City Art Gal-
lery; Leeds, Yorkshire, England
A daughter’s view; Watershed; Bristol, Avon, England
1992 Real Stories; Museet for Fotokunst; Odense, Denmark
1993 Renegotiations: class, modernity & photography; Nor-
wich Institute of Art & Design; Norwich, Norfolk
1994 Public Domain; Gallery de Art Santa Monica; Barce-
lona
1997 Invisible Light; Museum of Modern Art; Oxford, En-
glandSelected Works
Remodelling Photo History(with Terry Dennett), 1982
The Cancer Project, 1982
The Picture of Health?(with Rosy Martin), 1984
My Mother(with Rosy Martin), 1985
Mother and Daughter Shame Work: Crossing Class Bound-
aries(with Valerie Walkerdine), 1988
Cultural Sniper(with David Roberts), 1990Further Reading
Dennett, Terry, David Evans, Sylvia Gohl, and Jo Spence.
Photography Politics: One. London: Photography
Workshop, 1979.
Holland, Patricia, Jo Spence, and Simon Watney.Photo-
graphy Politics: Two. London: Comedia/Photography
Workshop, 1986.
Roberts, John. ‘‘Jo Spence: photography, empowerment
and the everyday.’’ InThe Art of Interruption. Manches-
ter & New York: Manchester University Press 1998.
Spence, Jo.Cultural Sniping: The Art of Transgression.
London & New York: Routledge, 1995.
———.Putting Myself in the Picture. London: Camden
Press, 1986.
———. ‘‘A book in the life of ... Jo Spence on John Heart-
field.’’ InCreative Camera: 30 years of Writing. Man-
chester and New York: Manchester University Press,
2000, pp. 182–186.
Spence, Jo, and David Hevey. ‘‘Body Language.’’ InCrea-
tive camera: 30 years of Writing. Manchester and New
York: Manchester University Press, 2000, pp. 202–208.
Spence, Jo, and Patricia Holland.Family Snaps: The Mean-
ings of Domestic Photography. London: Virago, 1991.
Solomon, Joan, and Jo Spence.What Can a Woman do with
a Camera?London: Scarlet Press, 1995.SPENCE, JO