Paul Railton is a documentary photographer based in London. His work examines what remains following human interaction with land, often focusing on dystopian charm or the interplay between beauty and pain in a space: he looks to bring out the beauty in scarred spaces. He is a graduate of Manchester School of Art and has an MA in documentary photography from the University of South Wales and he currently works as an associate lecturer and practice tutor at Goldsmiths, University of London. Paul’s work has been published in The Irish Times, The Sunday Times and The Irish Examiner and has been exhibited in the UK, China, Estonia, France and Italy

Group Exhibitions

2023- East meets West, Format Festival, Derby, UK

2022- Photo Open Up Festival, Padova, Italy

2021- Refrain Exhibition, Four Corners Gallery, London, UK

2021- Nexus, Photo Open Up, Padova, Italy

2021- Nexus, XVLI Space - Online Exhibition

2021- Foto Tallinn, Kai kunstikeskus, Tallinn, Estonia

2018 - Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIP), China

2018 - Voies Off Festival, Gallerie Au Passage Des Reves, Arles, France

2018 - Route, Holden Gallery, Manchester

2018 - The Light of Day, Plant Noma, Manchester

2017 - BRISTOL ARTISTS BOOK EVENT, Arnolfini, Bristol

2017 - Process Exhibtion, Art Work, Salford

2017 - Bound Artist Book Fair, The Whitworth, Manchester

2017 - Make/ Shift, Plant Noma, Manchester

2017 - was it the tired salmon: An Exhibition of Photobooks, Vertical Gallery, Manchester

Talks

2021 - Photography and the Ecological Gaze, Kai Kunstikeskus, Tallinn, Estonia

2020 - Square One, Cardiff, Wales

2020 - Next Steps, Manchester School of Art, Manchester, England

Awards + Residencies

2023 - Nominated for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award - by Mariama Attah (Open Eye Gallery)

2022 - Special Mention - Scientific Committee of Photo Open Up 2022

2022 - The Photo Solstice, Gavoi, Sardinia

2019 - Reginald Salisbury Award

Curatorial Projects

2019 - Co-Curator - this must be: the place, Grosvenor Gallery, Manchester

2018 - Co-Curator - Route, Voies Off Festival, Quai de la Roquette, Arles, France

2016 - Curator - From front page to front line, 1830 Gallery, Halifax