Biography

Polly Borland (born 1959) is an Australian photographer who formerly resided in England from 1989 to 2011, and now lives in Los Angeles, United States. She is known both for her editorial portraits and for her work as a photographic artist. Borland was born in Melbourne where her father gave her a camera with Nikkor lenses when she was 16. She graduated from Prahran College in 1983, where she discovered Diane Arbus, Weegee and, Larry Clark, all of whom influenced her work. On leaving art school, she became a portrait photographer, contributing to the Australian edition of Vogue. In 1989, she moved to the United Kingdom where she specialized in stylized portraits and reportage photography. Her work has been featured in newspapers and magazines worldwide.

A number of books on her work and exhibitions have been published. In 2001, her first series The Babies examined the way men can enjoy dressing up as infants, with an essay by Susan Sontag, an introduction by Mark Holborn. In 2008, she produced Bunny, a collection of photographs about English actress Gwendoline Christie. Bunny also features a fairy-tale written by Will Self and a poem by Nick Cave. Smudge (2011) features abstract depictions of three of her friends she uses as models; musician Nick Cave, photographer Mark Vessey and fashion designer Sherald Lambden. All three appear half naked, faces obscured, wearing body stockings, tights, wigs, and other fanciful objects of clothing. In February 2013 the documentary Polly Borland - Polymorphous was released.Borland was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2002.

Polly Borland and her husband, director John Hillcoat, live in Los Angeles, California.