A J. Laurent is a self-taught photographer who completed a summer photography course in June 1999, taught by an Army Photographer in Germany, learning to shoot on 35mm black & white film. Later, she studied for a degree in photography at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Her end-of-year project ‘BASELINE’ won the ‘EDGE’ Award for Ethical, Digital, and Global Entrepreneurship. It was also selected to feature in Source Graduate Photography Magazine as new emerging artist for her investigative journalistic style.

AJ uses the camera to probe questions that we ask ourselves while focusing on the space that separates us from each other, encouraging further inquiry. Through her work, she brings attention to external factors, revealing that, at the heart of it, we all have something in common.

Her work explores the simplicity of social documentary photography, capturing people’s life experiences and the subtleties in narrative form that draw us in. As we observe these aspects, the focus is turned towards us, encouraging us to see the world through our lens, offering space for purpose and meaning.

Her journey with photography continues to be one of exploration of its medium.