John Farrell (born 1990, Bellshill, Scotland) is an artist and writer based in Glasgow. His practice utilises photography, text, video, found/archival imagery and sound. He has exhibited internationally and throughout Scotland since graduating in 2015. His work often begins as a response to a specific historical or cultural signifier and he is drawn to forgotten places and histories. 

Most recently John has been working on ‘Traces and Edges’, a new longterm investigation into the former Ravenscraig Steelworks, which culminated in the exhibition ‘Coal, Steel and Earth’ at Summerlee Museum in 2018. His critical writing has been published in a number of books and journals, including NOTES and the Scottish Society for the History of Photography journal Studies in Photography. He has written extensively on the work of Robert Frank and organised the Scottish premiere of Laura Israel’s acclaimed documentary ‘Don’t Blink’ at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow as part of Glasgow Zine Fest, May 2017.

The Little Sparta Trust is grateful to the Trustees of The Bridge Awards for supporting this residency.