(b. 1992, West Midlands, UK)
Artist based between New York City, USA and London, UK
She/Her
Sophie Cunningham’s work transforms the transactional nature of fast fashion into acts of subversive rebellion. Her practice probes the addictive cycles of online shopping, examining how brands perpetuate a throwaway culture amid the alarming rise of overconsumption. Through absurd, performative gestures in sculpture and photography, she creates films reminiscent of YouTube unboxings. Using the timeframe between her online order and customer return to stage these works, she inserts her interventions directly into existing supply chains. These acts collapse the distance between object, body, and system. Cunningham’s work turns capitalist spectacle inside out, revealing both its seduction and its emptiness.
Download: Systems at the Seams Exhibition Text, The Stone Space Gallery, London, UK, 2023
Education
Goldsmiths, University of London MFA Fine Art, 2019 - 2022
Glasgow School Of Art, BA Fine Art Photography, 2011 – 2015
Solo Exhibitions
2023 – Systems at The Seams, The Stone Space Gallery, London, UK
2020 – Empty Basket, AirSpace Gallery, 4 Broad Street, Stoke-on-Trent, UK
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 – I CHANGED MY MIND, BowArts Camden Lounge, London, UK
2025 – Disobedient Objects, Electric Studios, Hastings, UK
2024 – The Art of Living, Hypha Studios, 8 Dover Street, London, UK
2024 – Take a Seat, Bow Arts, 125 Shaftsbury Avenue, London, UK
2024 – Gilbert Bayes Award Show, The Art House, Wakefield, UK
2024 – Gilbert Bayes Award Show, Dora House, London, UK
2023 – Designed for Life, London College of Fashion, London, UK
2023 – Baggage Claim, Staffordshire Street Gallery, London, UK
2023 – Bottleneck, Hartslane Gallery, London, UK
2023 – East London Art Prize Exhibition, Nunnery Gallery, London, UK
2021 – Tilt, Collaborative Show with Ali Glover, 310 NXRD, London, UK
2021 – Social Fabric, 100 Shandy Street, London, UK
2021 – ACCESS, Deptford X, London, UK
2020 – Ways & Means, Skelf virtual project space (online), skelf.org.uk
2018 – INTER(TWINE), Supernormal Gallery, Singapore
2015 – Beyond The Camera, Pingyao International Photography Festival, China
Commissioned Sculpture
Collaboration with London Collage of Fashion x East London Art Prize:
Durational sculptural performance 'Tin Foil Ghost' for exhibition Designed for Life, 22 November – 20 December 2023
Collaboration with charity Migrant Help:
Temporary large-scale public sculpture for refugee awareness week at Southbank, London, 20-22nd June 2023
Awards
Gilbert Bayes Award, Royal Society of Sculptors, 2023
East London Art Prize Shortlist, BowArts, 2023
John Kinross Scholarship, Royal Scottish Academy, 2015
Talks
UAL Central St Martins, Artist Talk 'Empty Basket' for MA Fashion Histories & Theories, 11 October 2023
Whitechapel Gallery, 'Sophie Cunningham in conversation with Senior Lecturer in Fashion and Design for Social Change at London College of Fashion (UAL) Dr Francesco Mazzarella', 3 August 2023
V&A, Guest Speaker for 'Live Conversations: Designed to Make a Difference' 30 June 2021
Screenings
'Mementos for the Supply Chain’ at MicroActs: 13 Film screening at The Elephant Hotel, London, December 2022
Academic Appointments
Lecturer at South Essex College, UAL BA (Hons) Photography, January 2024 - September 2025
Associate Lecturer at UAL, Central St Martins, Foundation Diploma, September 2021 - October 2023
Visiting Tutor at Birmingham City University, BA (Hons) Photography, September 2021 - June 2023
Articles
BBC News, World Refugee Day: Backpack Artwork Unveiled, 2023
Autre Magazine, Hyperstitious Garments: A Treatise on Sartorial Immortality, 2022
Floorr Magazine, Issue 27, Interview by Simek Shropshire, 2021
Residencies
Hospitalfield, Interdisciplinary Residency, Arbroath, Scotland, May 2018
Take a Seat Artist Residency, ha.lf X Bow Arts, London, August - October 2024