El Hardwick (they/them) is a London based photographer, musician, director and curator.
Identifying as trans non-binary, their work explores relationships between bodies and their surrounding environments, queer world making practices, and how we can heal on a damaged planet.
in 2016, they self published their first book, celestial bodies, which was created in collaboration with their sister rachel hardwick and us-based photographer chrissie white.
2020 saw the release of el hardwick’s debut album, titled 8, released on 33-33. a climate fiction told in three mediums, the lp is accompanied by a 40-page book of poetry and photographs taken in collaboration with chrissie white, clara pathe and justina goldbeck. this is el hardwick’s first music released under their own name, after previously making music under the moniker moonbow. the release was followed by 8 remixes - an EP featuring contributions from nailah hunter, 96 back, laura misch & more.
el Hardwick has exhibited in London, Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Oxford, Lisbon and Brighton, at galleries including The V&A Museum, Palais De Tokyo, The Southbank Centre and The Cob Gallery. they have also performed their music internationally and done talks on their work for Oxford and Cambridge University.
they have also curated several events and zines, and in 2020 they launched desire lines: a series of occasional multidisciplinary projects that centre community healing at the intersection of music, art and ecology.
They have been featured by platforms including Dazed, i-D, BBC Radio 4, British Vogue, The Guardian, The British Journal Of Photography, The Independent, purple fashion, buffalo zine, crack magazine, the wire, 4:3 & more. for a list of their commercial photographic clients, see here.
photo by matt esselen