Polly Hardwicke
Distend explores the intersection of trauma, landscape, and the body, capturing how overlooked narratives are embedded in both. Rooted in Polly’s experience of illness and her diagnosis with Crohn’s disease, the photographs emerge from a ritualistic process, with landscapes acting as silent witnesses to past violences and proxies for her body. Studio sessions with others living with chronic illness became part of a shared healing process through listening and re-enactment. These images reclaim control, offer moments of catharsis, and propose alternative futures of healing.
Find more of Polly’s work below: