Jenny Matthews is a documentary photographer and film maker working on issues of dispossession and human rights with a particular emphasis on the lives of women and girls. She has worked all over the world for NGOs and on editorial assignments, covering momentous historical events including the guerrilla war and Independence of Eritrea, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the genocide in Rwanda.
Her book Women and War chronicling 20 years of women worldwide affected by conflict was published in 2003 by Pluto Press and the accompanying exhibition toured worldwide. Matthews is currently working on a second volume entitled Stories of Love and War. Living in Hackney, East London Matthew has been working on a long term project with her vibrant local community.
Since 2005 Matthews has been a member of the agency, Panos Photographers. Previously she was a founding member of the Format Photographers Women’s Photo Agency and from 1989 – 2005 a member of Network Photographers.
Her principle exhibitions include In the Company of Women, a journey through Central America, which toured across the UK at the Impressions Gallery, York, ICA, London, Side Gallery, Newcastle, Watershed Art Centre, Bristol and Open Eye, Liverpool.
In 1989 Matthews’ project Namibia, was exhibited at the Africa Centre and in 1992 Street Girls, Brazil was shown at the City of London Polytechnic. Her work Rights of Children was included in the Whitechapel Open.
Women and Conflict has been exhibited at the Royal Armouries, Leeds; Freedom Forum, London; Grazia Neri Gallery, Milan; Foundation Gallery, Spitafields; University of Michigan, USA; , Imperial War Museum, Manchester; Sirius Gallery, Cork; Athinaes Centre, Athens, Greece and as part of the photojournalism festival in Perpignan, France.
