Scottish-born photographer Nikki Toole (b. 1965) studied film and photography in London and Edinburgh before moving to Melbourne. Initially studying to become a cinematographer, Toole approaches her photographs in a cinematic way in terms of lighting and depth of field, as well as the pose itself. She is known for her raw, unflinching portraits of subjects from roller derby participants to young Americans celebrating NYC Pride and London butchers, each captured in the urban spaces they inhabit. Her exhibition Skater, featuring photographs taken around the world, was developed with the National Portrait Gallery and exhibited here in 2012. In 2015 the project was published in a book by Kehrer Verlag in Germany. A five-time finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize and a guest judge in 2015, Toole was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to photograph campaigner against family violence Rosie Batty AO and rugby union legend Mark Ella AM. Her work has been exhibited in Australia, Britain, USA and Germany and she has lectured on photography and cultural identities internationally. Toole and her partner were in Italy in the middle of a twelve-month world trip taking photographs when Covid-19 hit. She is now based in Paris.
