The Messy Truth - Conversations on Photography

Chieska Fortune Smith - On Collective Learning

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Chieska Fortune Smith about her journey through photography and the role of collective learning in her practice...

Between Two Worlds - On Future Storytelling with Kathy Ryan

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back. To celebrate reaching the 100th episode of the podcast, I collaborated with the team at the International Centre of Photography in New Y...

Between Two Worlds - On Documentary

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back. To celebrate reaching the 100th episode of the podcast, I collaborated with the team at the International Centre of Photography in New Y...

Between Two Worlds - On Contemporary Art

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back. To celebrate reaching the 100th episode of the podcast, I collaborated with the team at the International Centre of Photography in New Y...

Between Two Worlds - On Portraiture

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back. To celebrate reaching the 100th episode of the podcast, I collaborated with the team at the International Centre of Photography in New Y...

Gideon Jacobs - On Images

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to writer and artist Gideon Jacobs. For the last few years, Gideon has been grappling with our relationship to ima...

Donna Ferrato - On Justice

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Donna Ferrato, a fearless photojournalist who has redefined how the world sees domestic violence through her gr...

Lisa Barnard - On Perception

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this conversation Lisa Barnard talks to Gem Fletcher about her new exhibition, You Only Look Once,  at c/o Berlin which considers perception i...

Liz Johnson Artur - On Taking Time

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I Will Keep You in Good Company, the latest book by Liz Johnson Artur brings together pages and fragments from over twenty years of her personal workb...

Vince Aletti - On Collecting

07 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Gem talks to writer and curator Vince Aletti about his most recent book Physique—which showcases rare photographic prints from the u...

Charlotte Jansen - On Discovery

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Charlotte Jansen, writer and Photo London curator. They discuss mechanics behind photography fairs, how she app...

Carolyn Drake and Andres Gonzalez - On Collaboration

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to photographers and longtime partners Carolyn Drake and Andres Gonzalez about their collaborative project and boo...

Amak Mahmoodian - On Dreaming

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to Amak Mahmoodian about her latest body of work, ‘One Hundred and Twenty Minutes’, in which she examines dre...

Paul Kooiker - On the Archive

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to artist Paul Kooiker. They discuss his process, unique way of seeing, his relationship to equipment, the archive...

Alessia Glaviano - On Relevance

08 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Alessia Glaviano, the Head of Global PhotoVogue and Director of the PhotoVogue Festival. They discuss relevance...

Jack Davison - On Craft

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Jack Davison about craft, creative development and the importance of taking risks, all through the lens of his ...

Cait Oppermann - On Autonomy

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Cait Opperman about her creative journey and her new full service production company Flowers. Born from her des...

Sophie Hackett - On Vernacular Photography

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Sophie Hackett, the photography curator at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto about the power of vernacular ...

Jesse Glazzard - On Community

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Photographer Jesse Glazzard renowned for making striking and intimate portraits anchored in his everyday life a...

Brian Paul Lamotte - On Design as Collaboration

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to designer and educator Brian Paul Lamotte about  reimagining the possibilities of form, production and dist...

Nathaniel Tonelli - On Alternative Realities

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nathaniel Tonelli, known by their monika Female Pentimento, has cultivated a vast audience on social media in awe of their celestial images which both...

Charlie Engman - On AI Images

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher welcomes back Charlie Engman to talk about Cursed, his new book of AI Images. Cursed stands as a testament to Charlie’...

Alona Pardo - On Multiplicity

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to curator Alona Pardo about her rich practice rooted in multiplicity. Alona is one of those curators who knows ho...

Laura Pannack - On Longevity

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher delves into the unique approach of London-based photographic artist, Laura Pannack. Her practice, which is a blend of ex...

Jermaine Francis - On Roots

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Jermaine Francis about his multifaceted practice. Jermaine’s work is both deeply personal while also speaking...

Eleonora Agostini - Live at Peckham 24

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to one of five special episodes recorded live at Peckham 24. In this episode, I speak to Eleonora Agostini about her series, A Study On Waitre...

Bindi Vora - Live at Peckham 24

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to one of five special episodes recorded live at Peckham 24. In this episode, I talk to Bindi Vora about the two projects she presented a...

Lina Geoushy - Live at Peckham 24

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to one of five special episodes recorded live at Peckham 24. In this episode, I talk to Lina Geoushy about her work Trailblazers, an inqu...

Åsa Johannesson - Live at Peckham 24

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to one of five special episodes recorded live at Peckham 24. In this episode, we celebrate and unpack Åsa Johannesson book Queer Methodology ...

Alexander Coggin - Live at Peckham 24

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to one of five special episodes recorded live at Peckham 24. In this episode, I talk to Alexander Coggin about ‘Mike,’ a fifteen year...

Ashleigh Kane - On Art Writing

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Ashleigh Kane taking a peek behind the curtain into the life of an editor and writer. Together we talk about th...

Emily Keegin - On Fuck Marry Kill Photography

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher is in conversation with Photo Editor Emily Keegin about New Rules, a special collaboration with WePresent, the arts plat...

Carmen Winant - On Art & Groundwork

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher talks to Carmen Winant about her latest book The Last Safe Abortion. Focusing on the near-fifty-year period in which abo...

Roxana Marcoci - On Curating

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to The Museum of Modern Art Photography Curator Roxana Marcoci. Using some of Roxana’s recent and upcoming exhib...

Lou Stoppard - On Exhibitions

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to the curator and writer Lou Stoppard about Exteriors, her new exhibition at MEP Paris and a book of the same tit...

Minisode - Brea Souders

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today's minisode, Gem Fletcher speaks to Brea Souders about her latest book Another Online Pervert, which charts her multi-year conversation with a...

Minisode - Micaiah Carter

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this minisode, Gem Fletcher speaks to previous guest Micaiah Carter about his first monograph, What’s My Name. The book, published by Prestel, ch...

Rene Matić - On Rude(ness)

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gem Fletcher chats to Rene Matić about a moment of flux in their practice. They are looking differently at the world, their work and the relationshi...

Andi Galdi Vinko - On Survival

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Andi Galdi Vinko is an internationally acclaimed artist working in photography. Her work draws visual analogies between intensely personal and intimat...

Sinna Nasseri - On Starting Over

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Iranian-American photographer Sinna Nasseri describes his ability to catapult viewers into every scene he captures as a "gonzo journalism curiosity." ...

Vinca Petersen - On Subversive Joy

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since the 1990s, Vinca Petersen's work has remained an authentic voice of European counterculture, providing diaristic windows onto alternative spaces...

Balarama Heller - On Sensation

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Balarama Heller's practice reimagines archetypal symbols found in the natural world. He explores primal symbols and patterns, both real and imagined, ...

Sheida Soleimani - On Subversion

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sheida Soleimani’s work explores intersections of art and activism. She melds sculpture, performance, film and photography to highlight critical per...

Alexandra Rose Howland - On Storytelling

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alexandra Rose Howland's practice is invested in illustrating the difficult complexities of our existence. Through her work, she seeks to generate a m...

Myriam Boulos - On Liberation

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Myriam Boulos’s practice is rooted in community and resistance, exploring the complex ways our bodies metabolise trauma, assert resistance, seek ple...

Jacqueline Bates - On Photo Direction

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout her career, Photo Director Jacqueline Bates has harnessed the power of photography to give visual journalism new dimension. During our conv...

Rhiannon Adam - On Abundance

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to photographer and artist Rhiannon Adam. Her work is heavily influenced by her nomadic childhood spent at sea, s...

Steph Wilson - On Experimentation

24 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to London-based photographer Steph Wilson. For Steph, The body is such a vast universe of paradoxes that will nev...

Harley Weir - On Process

24 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to London-based photographer Harley Weir. In this episode we discuss how her approach to image making is one root...

Audrey Blue - On Liberation

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gem Fletcher speaks to artist Audrey Blue (nee Gillespie) in the final episode of a three-part series in partnership with Seen Fifteen Gallery. The Tr...

Gareth McConnell - On Survival

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gem Fletcher speaks to photographer Gareth McConnell in the second episode of a three-part series in partnership with Seen Fifteen Gallery. The Troubl...

Martin Seeds - On Conflict

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher speaks to photographer and educator Martin Seeds as part of a three-part series in partnership with Seen Fifteen Gallery...

Tami Aftab - On Starting Out

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with photographer Tami Aftab. They dive into The Dog’s In The Car - a powerful and intimate collaboration betwee...

Zora J Murff - On Liberation

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with artist and educator Zora J. Murff. They deep dive into Zora’s latest book True Colors (or, Affirmations in ...

Jess Dugan - On Strategy

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with artist Jess T. Dugan. They discuss what it takes to cultivate and maintain an artistic practice, what Jess le...

Elisa Medde - On Criticism

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats with editor, writer and curator Elisa Medde. They discuss how an issue of Foam Magazine comes together in addition...

Elle Perez - On Community

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist and professor Elle Pérez. Elle generously lets us into their world from the early but formative days as...

Anastasia Samoylova - On Ecosystems

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist Anastasia Samoylova who moves between observational photography, studio practice and installation. By ut...

Campbell Addy - On Growth

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to photographer and director Campbell Addy. They come together to discuss Cambell’s first monograph Feeling Seen...

Rory Hamovit - On Practice

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to the artist Rory Hamovit. Rory uses his work as a site to interrogate and explore notions of masculinity, queern...

Karla Hiraldo Voleau - On Performance

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to the artist Karla Hiraldo Voleau. Karla’s work revolves around identity, vulnerability, love, gender roles and...

Charlotte Cotton - On the Ungraspable

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to the curator, writer and creative consultant Charlotte Cotton. Charlotte has explored photographic culture for o...

Ying Ang - On Rage

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to photographer and gallery director Ying Ang. Ying’s work is about active and conscious looking. She grapples w...

Donavon Smallwood - On Starting Out

02 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist Donavon Smallwood who uses the camera as a means of exploring humankind. Through intimate images that tr...

Brea Souders - On Chance

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

 In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to artist Brea Souders. Brea is known for disrupting our assumptions of what photography is. She does this t...

Emily Keegin - On Photo Direction

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

 In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to Emily Keegin, Freelance Photo Director. She has created images for The Fader, No Man’s Land, Time, Bloo...

Rose Marie Cromwell - On Relationships

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gem Fletcher chats to Rose Marie Cromwell. The Miami-based artist whose work is rooted in the language of documentary photography but subverts many of...

Coco Capitán - On Imagining

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gem Fletcher chats to Coco Capitán, known for her genre-defying work that straddles fashion and fine art. Coco is known for her hybrid practice ...

Catherine Opie - On Belonging

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gem Fletcher chats to Catherine Opie. Known for her powerfully dynamic photography that examines the ideals and norms surrounding the culturally const...

Charlie Engman - On Context

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gem Fletcher chats to Charlie Engman. Charlie originally trained as a movement artist as well as studying Japanese and Korean Studies before arriving ...

Lesley A. Martin - On Publishing

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to Lesley A. Martin, creative director of Aperture. She has edited over one hundred books including coll...

Ekow Eshun - On Curation

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Gem Fletcher chats to writer and curator Ekow Eshun. His writing has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Financial...

Laia Abril - On Methodology

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gem chats to Laia Abril. Laia is a research-based artist working with photography, text, video and sound. She began her career at the iconic Colors Ma...

Quil Lemons - On Creativity

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gem chats to Quil Lemons, a New York-based artist who has really crafted a distinct visual language which interrogates ideas around masculinity, queer...

Farah Al Qasimi - On Discovery

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gem chats to Farah Al Qasimi. While her primary line of inquiry examines postcolonial structures of power, gender and taste in the Gulf Arab states, w...

2020 Special

29 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, Gem Fletcher celebrates some of the personal projects, assignments and exhibitions that have been her highlights from the yea...

Sara Urbaez - On Photo Editing

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Gem chats to Sara Urbaez, a photo editor with extensive experience in both brand and editorial spaces. Sara extensive career has seen her work in phot...

Diana Markosian - On Transformation

26 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Gem chats to Diana Markosian, known for her intimate approach to storytelling using photography and film. Her projects have taken her to some of the m...

Annie Collinge - On Ideas

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded remotely on 16th October 2020, Gem chats to photographer Annie Collinge who moves between the world of art and fashion, creativity and commer...

Philip Montgomery - On Documentary

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 Recorded remotely on 5th September 2020, Gem chats to photographer Philip Montgomery. Renown for his urgent documentary work that focuses on the...

David Brandon Geeting - On Process

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 Recorded remotely on 4th September 2020, Gem chats to photographer David Brandon Geeting, a photographer renown for his disruptive approach to s...

Dr Jennifer Good - On Ethics

24 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded remotely on 7th September 2020, Gem Fletcher chats to Dr Jennifer Good, writer, researcher and educator. Known for her fascinating research o...

Carmen Winant - On Liberation

27 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded remotely on 26th July 2020, Gem Fletcher chats with renowned artist, writer and educator Carmen Winant. Her expansive art practice uses text ...

Christopher Anderson - On Evolution

06 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 Recorded remotely on 24th April 2020 during lockdown, Gem chats to renowned photographer Christopher Anderson, who continues to have a fascinati...

Alec Soth - On Portraiture

23 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded remotely on 9th April 2020 during lockdown, Gem chats to renowned photographer Alec Soth, best known for his iconic work Sleeping by the Miss...

Shaniqwa Jarvis - On Storytelling

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded remotely on 31st May 2020 during lockdown, Gem chats to leading photographer and artist Shaniqwa Jarvis, best known for her fusion of modern ...

Georgie Wileman - On Emotion

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Georgie Wileman is a portrait and Documentary photographer focusing on social injustice. Her work highlights our internalised lives, the struggles we ...

Micaiah Carter - On Collaboration

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Micaiah Carter's stylised photographs have graced magazines, screens and billboards capturing icons, past and present with his unique blend of 90’s ...

Leonard Suryajaya - on Resilience

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leonard Suryajaya uses his work to speak profoundly to the challenges of being an outsider, and the deep complexity of navigating identities. He embed...

Arielle Bobb-Willis - On Adversity

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Born and raised in New York City, with pit stops in South Carolina and New Orleans, photographer Arielle Bobb-Willis has been using the camera for nea...

Eva O'Leary - On Process

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Eva O’Leary has been producing photographs in and around her hometown of Central Pennsylvania, ironically nicknamed Happy Valley. Gaining access to ...

Chris Maggio - On Intervention

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Maggio is a photographer living in NYC with 8.6 million of his closest friends. Often exploring the quotidian details of American cities and the...

Devyn Galindo - On Activism

26 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Devyn Galindo is fearlessly nomadic, honest and observant, with an eye toward the gently radical. Having grown up between California and Texas, she be...

Antwaun Sargent - On Representation

20 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Antuwan Sargent is an art critic, writer and curator. He has contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, and more, as well as essays to multipl...

Michelle Groskopf - On Vulnerability

06 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Groskopf is a street and editorial photographer based in Los Angeles. Her street photography has been exhibited around the world, including K...

Kimberly Drew - On Accessibility

23 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kimberly Drew is a writer, curator, and activist. She received her B.A. Smith College in Art History and African-American Studies. She first experienc...

Prarthna Singh - On Location

09 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Prarthna Singh's work explores female identity in contemporary India, within the intersection of gender and nation. Particularly drawn to stories that...

Charlotte Jansen - On Gaze

25 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Charlotte Jansen is a British Sri Lankan author and arts and culture journalist. Since 2015, she has held the position of Editor-at-Large at Elephant ...

Alys Tomlinson - On Awards

11 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alys Tomlinson grew up in Brighton, UK and studied photography at Central Saint Martins. She recently completed an MA in Anthropology at SOAS, Univers...

Lydia Pang - On Commissioning

27 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After eight years in London including a five-year stint at M&C Saatchi and time with Anomaly, Lydia Pang moved to New York and now works as a Crea...