Father & Child

Father & Child, from the Born in Bradford birth cohort study, Bradford Royal Infirmary – maternity unit Bradford, 2007, digital inkjet print by Ian Beesley.

Between 2007 and 2025 Ian Beesley was the artist in residence for the Born in Bradford research study at Bradford Royal Infirmary – a pioneering long-term project to explore the health and wellbeing of more than 10,000 children in the city through to adulthood. ‘Father & Child’ was made in 2007 in the early stages of the project when participants were being recruited. Beesley took a series of portraits of parents with their new-born children to challenge traditional representations of mother and child, stereotypes of parenthood, and gender roles.

Photography can be used creatively in a public health study by bringing to life research data and findings, and celebrating participants as individuals.