Tish Murtha: Works 1976-1991 15 June - 14 October 2018
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TISH MURTHA: WORKS 1976-1991 15 JUNE - 14 OCTOBER 2018 19 April 2018 The Photographers’ Gallery presents Tish Murtha: Works 1976 – 1991, a new exhibition which charts the remarkable accomplishments of documentary photographer Tish Murtha (b. South Shields 1956 - d. 2013) and offers a tender and frank perspective on a historic moment of social deprivation and instability in Britain. The exhibition surveys six major bodies of work; Newport Pub (1976/78); Elswick Kids (1978); Juvenile Jazz Bands (1979); Youth Unemployment (1980); London by Night (1983) and Elswick Revisited (1987 – 1991) using both vintage and contemporary prints. In addition, the exhibition will also include personal letters and ephemeral material from the Tish Murtha Archive. In 1976, aged 20, Tish Murtha left Newcastle upon Tyne to study at the influential School of Documentary Photography at Newport College of Art under the guidance of Magnum photographer David Hurn. The earliest series in this show, Newport Pub, dates from this period – where Murtha photographed the realities of everyday life for the regulars of a typical public house, ‘The New Found Out’ in a deprived area. Murtha felt a genuine sense of obligation to the communities of her home in the North East, and had chosen a course of study which would make her a more effective photographer, one who could highlight the social disadvantages that she herself had suffered. On returning to the North East, Murtha created Elswick Kids, documenting the children playing on her local streets. Though not exhibited at the time, it led to her employment by a government-funded scheme as a Community Photographer by the Side Gallery in Newcastle. This exhibition includes two bodies of work Murtha produced on the scheme, Juvenile Jazz Bands and Youth Unemployment. Juvenile Jazz Bands documented children’s marching bands, which were an important part of life in the North East. Initially made with the backing of the band organisers, Murtha defied their expectations of glamorous images and instead produced critically engaged imagery, focusing on the regimental drills and militaristic nature of the Contd. bands. She was also drawn to the impromptu Jazz Bands that sprung up, self- Page 2 of 3 organised by the children who had been rejected from the official troupes and paid them equal attention in the series. Murtha’s interest in unemployed youth grew out of her own experiences and an earlier project she had created in Newcastle for the housing charity Shelter. Made in west Newcastle, Youth Unemployment combines sharp social observation with a lyrical sense of place and form. Murtha witnessed the dereliction of young lives up close and the figures that populate her series were often friends, family and neighbours. These strong personal ties to the subject matter compelled her towards creating work that could help those being offered little assistance in times of mass factory and mine closures. Witnessing government policies beginning to take hold on her community, she used her photography to confront the reality and impact of the political decision making of the day. On the 8th February 1981, Murtha’s work was raised as a subject for debate in the House of Commons. Youth Unemployment is undoubtedly Murtha’s most celebrated body of work. The Guardian’s photography critic Sean O’Hagan wrote: “There is much grittiness and poverty on display here… , too, and, everywhere you look, class rears its divisive head. Tish Murtha's black-and-white portrait of a couple lounging on a bed, watched from an adjacent cot by their curious child, is a study in enervation . [it] was taken in 1980. It could, though, be 1930.” After the Youth Unemployment exhibition in 1981, Murtha moved to London where she was commissioned by The Photographers’ Gallery to create a series on the sex industry in Soho for the group exhibition London by Night (1983). The work paired Murtha’s photographs with texts by her collaborator Karen Leslie who worked as a dancer and a stripper. Together the text and photographs still stand as a powerful critique of the sex trade. The final series in the exhibition, Elswick Revisted touches on racism and the impact of increasing cultural diversity in the area she knew so well. As with all of her photography, the series is an impassioned investigation into the lived reality of political policies, living conditions and communities struggling to survive in austere and transitional times. Parallels to contemporary living conditions, austerity politics and growing social inequality, bring a timely urgency to viewing Murtha’s work. Tish Murtha: works 1976 – 1991 will open alongside Alex Prager: Silver Lake Drive, a mid-career survey of American photographer and filmmaker, Alex Prager (b.1979). The exhibition is co-curated by Val Williams and Gordon MacDonald, with Karen McQuaid. With thanks to Ella Murtha and the Tish Murtha Archive. We acknowledge support from University of the Arts, London and Photography and the Archive Research Centre at London College of Communication. -Ends- Press Contacts: For further press information and image requests please contact: Emma Pettit or Grace O’Connor at Margaret on +44 (0) 20 7739 8203 or email [email protected] or [email protected] Contd. For General information and enquires about The Photographers’ Gallery, Page 3 of 3 including their archive, Print Sales Gallery or Bookshop contact: Ruby Wroe on + 44 (0) 207 087 9346 or email [email protected] Press Preview: Thursday 14 June, 10am - 12pm RSVP to [email protected] Notes for Editors: The Photographers’ Gallery The Photographers’ Gallery opened in 1971 in Great Newport Street, London, as the UK’s first independent gallery devoted to photography. It was the first public gallery in the UK to exhibit many key names in international photography, including Juergen Teller, Robert Capa, Sebastiano Salgado and Andreas Gursky. The Gallery has also been instrumental in establishing contemporary British photographers, including Martin Parr and Corinne Day. In 2009, the Gallery moved to 16 – 18 Ramillies Street in Soho, the first stage in its plan to create a 21st century home for photography. Following an eighteen months long redevelopment project, the Gallery reopened to the public in 2012. The success of The Photographers’ Gallery over the past four decades has helped to establish photography as a recognised art form, introducing new audiences to photography and championing its place at the heart of visual culture. www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk Co-Curator Val Williams Val Williams is a curator and writer, and is Professor of the History and Culture of Photography at the University of the Arts London, Director of the Photography and the Archive Research Centre and of the Moose on the Loose Biennale of Research. She is also an editor of the Journal of Photography & Culture. Curated projects include How We Are (Tate Britain; Daniel Meadows: Early Photographs (Library of Birmingham and touring); Warworks (Victoria &Albert Museum and touring ); Martin Parr Retrospective(Barbican Art Gallery and touring ) ; The Dead (National Media Museum and touring); Who’s Looking at the Family? (Barbican Art Gallery). She is currently co-curating ‘Seaside’ with Karen Shepherdson for Turner Contemporary and tour. Co-Curator Gordon MacDonald Gordon MacDonald is an artist and curator based in Brighton. He is also one half of the collaborative partnership MacDonaldStrand with Clare Strand, who initiate idea-based projects. MacDonald was the founding Editor of Photoworks magazine and was Head of Publishing at Photoworks, which he left in 2012. Before this he worked as an artist, writer, curator, press photographer and educator. He stood down as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Brighton Photo Fringe in 2014, which he had worked on since 2003. MacDonald was also co- founder of the visual arts publishers GOST Books and more recently guest curator of Krakow Photomonth 2017. Visitor Information Opening times: Mon – Sat, 10:00 - 18:00; Thu, 10:00 - 20:00; Sun, 11:00 - 18:00 Admission: free until noon (Mon - Sun) and then £4 / £2.5 concessions Address: 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW Nearest London Underground Station: Oxford Circus T: + 44 (0)20 7087 9300 E: [email protected] W: thephotographersgallery.org.uk .