Tessa Boffin Ed. Sunil Gupta | Published by Stanley Barker Books
Boffin (b.1960 - d. 1993 London, UK) was a pioneering artist and a key organising figure in the UK's photography scene, working between the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Despite a brief oeuvre, Boffin developed a complex body of photographic work which explored gender, sex positivity and societal and political issues referring to AIDS.
In staged scenes Boffin championed lesbian visibility and the actualization of queer identity through explorations of fantasy. Boffin had a bold, ground-breaking practice at a time of little visual representation and acknowledgement of queer desire. In imaginative discovery, she deconstructed historical heterosexual role models, combining fact and story to reimagine them. Deftly weaving historical references, critical theory and wit to propose an alternative space of exploration.
This monograph brings together all of the work Boffin’s made in her short career, including Angelic Rebels, The Knight’s Move and Lovers Distance, alongside a selection of commissions and collaborative works, edited and introduced by her long-time friend and collaborator Sunil Gupta.
October 10, 2025
