Sorcha Frances Ryder is a visual artist & photographer based in Manchester, U.K. Her practice is primarily analog photography & mixed media.
Sorcha Frances Ryder (b. 1998) is a Dublin-born visual artist and fine art photographer currently based in Manchester, UK. She graduated in 2021 with a First Class Honours BA in Fine Art Print & Contemporary Practice from the Limerick School of Art & Design.
Her work explores themes of identity, belonging, and the transition from youth to adulthood, incorporating elements of the uncanny and the abject. Through intimate portraiture and narrative scenes set in domestic and personal spaces, Ryder creates deeply personal images that are uncompromising in their rawness and honesty. Her practice reflects her experiences as a twenty-something navigating life after college, while also functioning as a broader reflection on a generation grappling with uncertainty and disillusionment.
Working primarily with analog photography, Ryder captures herself and those close to her in fleeting, sentimental moments of transition. Her work embraces and deconstructs the unavoidable challenges and complexities of change.
Alongside her personal practice, Ryder brings her distinctive visual language to commissioned work, collaborating with clients including The Mary Wallopers, Lankum, and Adidas Originals.
She has exhibited widely across Ireland, including at Limerick City Gallery of Art, 126 Gallery (Galway), OUTSET Gallery (Galway), and the National Gallery of Ireland. She was shortlisted for the Zurich Portrait Prize in 2022 and 2023, gaining recognition for her works My Bedroom As A Depressed College Graduate and Wide Awake..
WORK FEATURED IN (PUBLICATIONS) : MOJO, NME, Hot Press Magazine, DISTRICT magazine, The Guardian, The Irish Times, RTÉ Culture, NPR Music, Rough Trade Records, Nialler9, Irish Arts Review, National Gallery of Ireland ZPP 2022 Catalogue, LUNA magazine, and more.
EDUCATION
BA (First Class Hons)in Fine Art Print & Contemporary Practice, Limerick School of Art & Design - 2017-2021
FETAC Level 5 in Art, Design & Mixed Media, Ballyfermot College of Further Education - 2016-2017
Exhibitions
SOLO SHOWS
Days That Last Forever + Friends Who Never Have To Go Home - The MAGNET, Dublin (2023)
GROUP SHOWS
A Most Tender Tug of War (Dual show) - The 126 Gallery, Galway (2024)
Zurich Portrait Prize 2023 (Shortlisted Artist) - The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (2023)
Zurich Portrait Prize 2022 (Shortlisted Artist) - The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (2022)
Outset Xmas Open - Outset Gallery, Galway (2022)
PULSE - Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick (2022)
MAXIMALISM - Spacecraft Gallery + Studios, Limerick (2022)
K-FEST 2021 - Killorglin, County Kerry (2021)
Cinemagic Film Festival - Belfast (2021)
Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival - Offaly (2021)
RALLY - online degree show for LSAD graduates (Class of 2021)
Novas Ireland Fundraiser in Sailor's Home - Limerick City (2018)
King John's Castle, Group Show - Limerick City (2017)
