Jackson Fine Art presents She Was I, a survey of career-defining work by Sam Taylor-Johnson, one of Britain's most internationally celebrated artists, photographers, and filmmakers. This extensive solo exhibition coincides with the publication of the artist's major new monograph, Sam Taylor-Johnson: The Self and the Portrait, published by Rizzoli. A public opening reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, October 22 from 6-8pm. Copies of the signed monograph will be sold during the reception.
Sam Taylor-Johnson, Escape Artist (Multicoloured), 2008
She Was I traces Taylor-Johnson's psychologically rich explorations of the self through portraiture in her photography and film work. The selection begins with her early black and white photographs taken in London in the 1990s when she was a student. Then, more than a decade later, the artist returned to self-portraiture with images of herself suspended in her London studio, her body appearing weightless, seemingly held aloft by balloons. In Wired, shot in 2020 in Joshua Tree, Taylor-Johnson now reveals and makes integral to the composition the fragile support mechanisms that elevate her body above the ground in the California desert. Taylor-Johnson’s powerful new series Self Portrait in Dark Water, in which she relies on water to hold her body in otherworldly suspension, will be presented to US audiences for the first time.
The exhibition will also feature a selection of works from the series Crying Men. Created between 2002-2004, Taylor-Johnson invited leading male actors to appear before her camera, sat in a moment of intimate reflection, their vulnerability exposed through the act of crying. In parallel to these recognizable individuals, the portraits of the artist’s family and friends captured in the most familial of private settings, possess a semi-autobiographical quality.
Sam Taylor-Johnson, Self Portrait, 2026
About the book:
Sam Taylor-Johnson: The Self and the Portrait (Rizzoli, October 6, 2026) is the first comprehensive monograph on the artist, including new writing by Sam Taylor-Johnson alongside texts contributed by Lynsey Addario—award-winning photojournalist and New York Times bestselling author of It's What I Do—and Tracey Emin, the acclaimed British artist whose work has been exhibited internationally, including at Tate Modern, London; the Musée d'Orsay, Paris; and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
Sam Taylor-Johnson: The Self and the Portrait draws imagery from the artist’s extensive archive. The 224-page volume captures the evolution of her vision from early floating self-portraits through to the quiet intensity of Crying Men and the behind-the-scenes imagery of her cinematic work. The book will be available to purchase at the gallery.
