Dr Annalisa Sonzogni
Faculties, departments and locations
- Kingston School of Art
- Department of Critical and Historical Studies
- School of Creative and Cultural Industries
Senior Lecturer in Critical and Historical Studies
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I am a visual artist working with photography and film in the field of architecture with a specific interest in site-specific installation. My installations are immersive environments that create a bridge between functional and imaginary spaces. I've done extensive research on the relationship between photography and the built environment, focusing in particular on issues of scale, perception and representation. I have a keen interest in interdisciplinary research.
I have been teaching in Critical and Historical Studies at Kingston School of Art since 2015. I have previously held teaching positions at University for the Creative Arts, Anglia Ruskin University and London South Bank University.
I was co-convener of Ph: The Photography Research Network, a network of academics working in the field of photography and film from 2015 to 2024.
I was artist-in-residence at T.A.J & SKE Projects in Bangalore; Gasworks in London and École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles.
Alongside solo exhibitions at the Italian Cultural Institute in Mexico City; Casa del Fascio in Italy; Pescheria Visual Arts Centre, Pesaro and the former Lilian Baylis School in London, I have exhibited in group exhibitions at Stills Scotland's Centre for Photography, Edinburgh; Four Corners gallery, London; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Italy; Museum Folkwang, Germany and Le Botanique, Belgium.
Areas of research interest:
- perception, experience and representation of space
- the representation of the city
- the interior in architecture
- display and exhibition
Qualifications
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2018
- PhD Practice-based, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Kingston University, 2016
- MA, Photography, Royal College of Art, 2008
- Diploma in arte e pittura (110 e lode: 100% cum laude – equivalent first class B.A. Hons. Fine Art and Painting with distinction) Brera Academy, Milan, Italy, 1996
Domains
I currently teach across photography and fashion courses, including Contextualising Contemporary Practice – Photography, Critical Issues in Fashion: Research and Practice – Fashion, and Independent Research Project in Critical and Historical Studies – Photography. I also co-supervising PhD projects. I welcome proposal from prospective postgraduate students who would like to work on such topics as research in art practice, contemporary art and installation, photography, modernity and modernism, visual culture and representation, the perception and experience of space.
Ongoing supervision
Eddie Dorrian, Working out of a contested common ground: A politics of drawing as collectivity and organisation
Courses taught
I am currently co-authoring an educational book called Research Methods for Photography: Practical and Critical Methods, which will be published by Routledge (UK) in spring 2026. The book is intended for general educational use, predominantly for undergraduates and A-level students.
My research explores the importance of photography as spatial representation and re-assess ways in which visual information relates to real experience. Using an experimental approach, I examine the mechanisms of site-specific installation in photography, drawing on contemporary architectural debates around relationships between image and space, as well as debates in fine art. The outcomes of my research include photographic series that can range from a different number of photographs, catalogues, experimental films and site-specific installations in public and private spaces.
Specialisms
- 20th-century architectural history/theory
- Modernity and modernism
- Post-war architecture in Britain and Italy
- Architectural photography
- Experimental film
Scholarly affiliations
- Visiting lecturer Fashion Promotion & Imaging at School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE), Hong Kong: 2020/21
My knowledge of the Creative Media sector has been enriched by my 20 years of practice as a professional photographer. During my teaching career I have continued working as a freelance photographer within the field of architecture, documentary and Fine Art on a variety of commissions.
Publications
Gabriele Basilico: postcards (Milan, 1978-80)
Sonzogni, Annalisa, Carullo, Valeria, Borden, Iain, Loreti, Silvia, Mattiucci, Cristina, Gurrea, Mikel, Bendiner-Viani, Gabrielle, Stoppani, Teresa, Bernath, Doreen, Tommasini, Matthew, Lopez, Jon, Nissanke, Hikaru and Bejer, Simon, 2020, The Journal of Architecture (24), 8pp 1149-1173, Published
Reconfigurations of interior spaces: an investigation through photography, architecture and site-specific installation
Sonzogni, Annalisa (2015), PhD thesis [Accepted/In press]