The Embrace:

Born in London, England, Mandy Williams is a photography and video artist. Williams attended Goldsmith’s College where she studied Communications (film). Her work explores the psychology of place, the influence of environment on identity, and how the social and emotional aspects of human lives intersect. Williams formerly lived and produced art in Vancouver, BC before returning to London. Her work is featured in private collections in England, Canada, and the United States, as well as in the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography and the Museum of New Art, Detroit. Williams has exhibited across North America, in the UK, and internationally. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours including a Canada Council for the Arts Visual Arts grant, the Redcliffe Press Photography Award at the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) Open Exhibition in 2014, and the Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris Official Selection in 2011. Williams was shortlisted for British Women Artist Award in 2016 and shortlisted RWA Academician candidate in 2015. On her Vimeo site (https://vimeo.com/artphotofilm/about Accessed February 7, 2017), Williams describes herself as “an artist working with photography and video who is interested in the social dynamics arising from contemporary culture - particularly how personal identity is affected by environment and how our social and affective lives interconnect. Many of my projects have focused on the domestic home, including Inside (2010), a video filmed from the street at dusk that captures everyday domestic rituals, and Dream House (2013), an experimental documentary that interweaves fantasy and reality as children visualise their ideal adult home. My most recent video, Riverbed Stories (2015), documents the environmental destruction along the river in an area of natural beauty with its underlying narrative of human presence and loss.” ARTIST INFO: http://www.mandywilliams.com/ (Accessed January 11, 2017); Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtPhotoFilm (Accessed February 7, 2017); Vimeo site (https://vimeo.com/artphotofilm/about (Accessed February 7, 2017); Blurb member profile: http://www.blurb.com/user/mlwbook (Accessed February 7, 2017); Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/mandywilliamsphotography/ (Accessed February 7, 2017).