Pushing The Boundaries of Photography & Film with Catherine Yass
Episode 72
20 January, 2025

This week, we welcome the internationally acclaimed artist Catherine Yass, a true pioneer of lens-based art whose haunting, multilayered work explores the boundaries of photography, film, space and perception.

Catherine’s solo exhibitions have been presented at leading venues such as the De La Warr Pavilion, the ICA, and Turner Contemporary, and her work is held in major collections including Tate, MoMA, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. A Turner Prize nominee, she’s also the mind behind thought-provoking public commissions like High Wire and the poetic NHS Swimmers at Paddington Square. Her training spans Camberwell, the Slade, the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin, and Goldsmiths College. Today, she teaches at the Royal College of Art.

In this episode, Catherine reflects on her artistic journey and what it means to build a career with integrity in a fast-moving, commercialised art world. She speaks candidly about self-initiating projects, finding ways to sustain her practice, and navigating the emotional and financial challenges of being an artist.

From analogue techniques to feminist subversions, Catherine’s work is rich with complexity and intent. Whether addressing the architecture of justice or the fragility of human ambition, she invites us to look more closely, slow down, and stay with uncertainty.

What We Learned from Catherine Yass

1. Slowness is a form of resistance
   Catherine reminded us that not everything needs to move at breakneck speed. Her meticulous analogue processes challenge the pressure to produce quickly, inviting depth, atmosphere, and reflection.
2. Failure can be meaningful
   Through works like High Wire, Catherine explores the power of imperfection. Sometimes the act of reaching—of imagining what could be—is more important than the result itself.
3. Art is an exchange, not a product
   Catherine’s experiences as an artist and educator highlight the importance of dialogue. Teaching fuels her creativity, just as her work invites viewers into a slower, more thoughtful relationship with time and space.
4. Feminist perspectives shift the frame
   Whether in her early portraits or large-scale commissions, Catherine subtly challenges patriarchal structures. Her interventions ask us to see power differently—not as fixed, but as something that can be exposed, questioned, and reimagined.
5. Embodiment matters
   Catherine spoke about how sensory details—like the weight of time, the resonance of colour, and even the presence of smell—bring her work to life. These elements anchor abstract concepts in felt experience.

This episode is for anyone curious about resilience, resistance, and the poetic potential of lens-based art. Catherine Yass offers a masterclass in creating with care, courage, and curiosity.