About

Foxtrot Lightning is the name for creative projects by Sophie Polyviou- artist/photographer/maker now based in London, originally from the Mediterranean and forever drawn back to the sea.

I use my camera to keep my eyes open and an ear to the ground. Whether engaging with landscapes or people, the camera becomes a tool for meditative observation, a way of approaching the unknown and the overly familiar, trying to capture it as it slides between memory and artefact.

My images have been exhibited at the Bishopsgate Institute, published in the Guardian, the Independent, Hackney Gazette and Time Out.

Contact

For collaborations, commissions or other queries please contact me on foxtrotlightnin g@gmail.com

If you would like to get the occasional email update from me join my mailing list.

For more recent wanderings check my Instagram @FoxtrotLightning

Good day to follow the light playing on water, grass & sculpture 🌞🌞🌞 @henrymoorestudios just a short ride from London and full of treats for the eyes and mind 👀 . . . #inspiration #shadowplay #lightplay #exploring #followthesun #mayflies #henrymoore #sculpture

Ouf what a day chatting zines & paper stock & binding, thanks to @thephotographersgallery @stevemac65 @_dillythain_ & Janice for having us at a #FolioFriday zine special. I was so busy chatting I did not take a single photo of the beautiful work (👌) so please check out the makers below and support your local zine scene! ...Speaking of which I found a book right up my street of technicolour Bolivian architecture in zine corner @tpgbookshop so here is a photo of that instead 👍👍👍 @barbaratraver_⁠ @ciao.dana⁠ @foxtrotlightning @AnnieGentilKraatz⁠ @jmsmsn⁠ @scissormag⁠ @velvia25 @jscameye⁠ @ianlongthorne (@eva_voutsaki sorry you couldn't make it but looking forward to seeing your stuff in person one day!)

This Friday I'll be at @thephotographersgallery sharing some zines I've made - #FolioFriday is hosting a zine & small publications special, I'm excited to see what other people are bringing! It's open to the public from 2-5pm on the 12th May, so if you're in London for Photo London / Peckham 24 / Offprint pop in and have a browse. #zines #photography #photobook #diyprojects

Sneaking into @thephotographersgallery from the basement... Very happy that the lovely people over at @tpgbookshop 📸 and "the spiritual home of independent publishing" @magculture have taken a few copies of my zine on Mexican shrines! Getting low on copies of Madre Celestial so if you don't get one from me then they should still have some copies available. 📚📚📚

Spot the difference.. 👀 this pink lady guards the town where we decided to wait out lockdown back in 2020. I liked walking up to her on the weekends & seeing how the offerings & flowers changed. It reminded me that these shrines are not static things, but constantly remade by the people who come to them, taking comfort or hope, leaving a small gift in exchange.

Easter yellow ribbon shrines... Minimalist Vs Maximalist.. who did it better?? Was too busy popping Easter eggs into my mouth to post this on Easter itself, soz. 🥚🥚🥚

Outtake from my zine... At 48+ pages there is not much I cut 😬
I wasn't sure about this image. On the one hand, it's a pyramid church! &hearts;️ And the bright colours are unmistakably inspired by Mexican folk art. But it wasn't technically a shrine

Outtake from my zine... At 48+ pages there is not much I cut 😬 I wasn't sure about this image. On the one hand, it's a pyramid church! ♥️ And the bright colours are unmistakably inspired by Mexican folk art. But it wasn't technically a shrine... and in the end I wasn't happy with the distracting wall & gate. But I still loved finding this place, and the inside of the church was amazing too, including curved brick walls to make the pyramid shape! (swipe to the last photo to see) 🤯

Little look at what's in the Special Edition.. aka Magpie's edition full of shiny things. The 8 x 10" print @hahnemuehle_uk metallic paper really glows, plus there are extra pages on gold paper, and images on pearl metallic paper tipped in. ✨ This is an edition of only 13 and not many left, if you want one act fast, DM me to reserve one or head to my website to get one now!

Little look at what's inside the new zine.. 48 pages in full colour plus inserts! This is just the regular edition with quite a few extras in the special.. £15 and available now from my website, go to the link in my bio to see more!

Exhibitions & publications

2022
The Art Car Boot Fair: Electric Edition, Lewis Cubitt Square, London
Postcards from Europe, Art at the ARB, Cambridge University

2021
Edition 365, British Journal of Photography & newart.city
10 Years of The Photocopy Club, Bateman's Row, London
Environment Zine, Fleur and Arbor
High Noon Weather, self-published zine
Stray Light zine, PhotoBookCafe publication

2020
We're All Gonna Die of Something, Blasé House
Ore, self-published zine

2018
Portraits from A Hackney Autobiography, Stour Space
Holding The Baby, touring exhibition, East London Libraries

2014
Fake Tan Salon, Doyce Street Mining Company, London
Swim London (book published by Aurum Press)

2013
Sounds From The Park, Bishopsgate Institute, London
Fake Tan Salon, The Aftermath, Bar Lane Studios, York
The Photocopy Club, Adventure and the Ocean, Wowohho Space, Hong Kong

2012
Reflections in Pubs & Bedrooms, Photomonth12, Riley's of Clapton, London
Slide Project(or), PhotoIreland, The Bernard Shaw, Dublin

2011
Photo-Open, Photomonth11, Rich Mix, London
Camera Obscura, The Big Draw, Bar Lane Studios, York