‘This is vandalism on a grand scale,” the photographer Tish Murtha once wrote about the way the Thatcher government had decimated working-class communities in her native north-east England. “Our society has no solution to their problems.”
Through her camera lens, Murtha saw the pain, hardship and turmoil that these communities underwent during periods of stark unemployment and poverty. But she also saw strength, community and unity. The photos she took – be it kids playing knee-high in rubble or unemployed teenagers aimlessly wandering the streets – captured an unflinching raw beauty and intimacy that came from a place of empathy. It was the work of someone who was capturing a community that they were a part of. Indeed, her images often featured her own family members.
Murtha’s stunning photography – and the tragic story of her death a decade ago, in relative obscurity and poverty at the age of just 56 – is the subject of a recent documentary, Tish, by Paul Sng. Inspired by Murtha’s work, and to celebrate the spirit that drove it, the photography project Document Your Community was launched to tie in with the release of the film. Created by the British Culture Archive, in association with Modern Films and supported by the British Film Institute, it invited the public to follow in the footsteps of Murtha and document their own communities.
Everyone was welcome to submit photos, be it keen amateurs, budding professionals or simply those who happened to snap something in passing on their phone. These 11 images taken from the project, picked in collaboration with Paul Wright from the BCA, capture the breadth of modern life in Britain via fun fairs, squat parties, skateboarders, window cleaners and broken-down bikers.
Skateboarding girls, Hull by Jess Bennett
“In 2019 I started documenting the familiar faces of the people who frequent the bars and businesses around the Princes Ave area of Hull. One day three girls, all sisters, whizzed past me on skateboards in height order with their hijabs blowing in the wind. I didn’t have my camera on me, just my iPhone, and it’s really difficult to go up to someone and say ‘can I take a picture of your kid?’ but I’m glad I did. The skater girls were a refreshing change to the bar antics I had previously captured. This image is of Maysa, who was about seven or eight at the time and their mum Hasina is amazing. She didn’t know what to do with them in that period of lockdown when you had one an hour a day to go outside and do something, so she bought them all a skateboard and showed them the basics. It all happened from there. They’re all sponsored skateboarders now and they’re rapping as well!”
Oldham, Greater Manchester by Grace Potts
“This is the local kebab shop in my home town and the photo was taken as part of my final year Uni project at Manchester Met. It was about looking back on Oldham and trying to see past negative stereotypes. I used to be like, oh I hate Oldham, I want to get out of here, but it’s so nice to go home and have that sense of belonging. I love living in Manchester but sometimes you can get lost there because it’s so big and there’s so many people. It’s quite easy to feel like an impostor. Whereas the kebab shop feels like home.”
Pontefract, near Wakefield by Phil Jones
“I’m a window fitter by trade and I was working that day. There were some goalposts drawn on the wall, so I said to my mate to go and stand in the goal and I’d take a few shots. It was the school holidays and then the kids came out to play while I was still working up and down the ladder. I thought, I’m having a shot of this. It was just taken on my iPhone 7 but I really like this one because it looks like it could be from a different era.”
Holme Wood, Bradford by Chris Wright
“I was living in Leeds and teaching in Bradford and I saw a news item on Look North about locals complaining around the Holme Wood area of people tethering horses all over the place. I thought I’d go and have a look. I got there and there were horses everywhere. I was standing around taking pictures, which is not a normal thing to do in the middle of a council estate. These lads arrived and I wasn’t really sure what reaction I would get, but I’m not very good at running so I talked to them and they were absolutely fine. I think they had come out of school at lunchtime to feed the horses or something. I’ve been taking photographs for about 15 years around West Yorkshire but this is my favourite. I really like it because they posed; it’s very obviously a posed photograph, but they were very close to the horse, there’s a tenderness there.”
Ghost train, Hornsea by Carmina Rippolles
“I was having an evening walk on the seafront of my small east Yorkshire town. It was the end of summer and there’d been a little family funfair there but that evening it was packing up and moving on. I asked if I could take some pics of the dismantling – the light was good and the sun was setting. As I was doing this the fairground owners’ kids appeared, dressed up in these old-fashioned frocks and crocs – they were too good to miss. Their parents were happy for me to take photos so I followed the kids to the ghost train and just started snapping. They didn’t talk to me much but they were very natural in front of the camera – especially the older girl who suddenly decided to empty her cup of hot chocolate on the floor.”
Window cleaner, Bedford by Cameron Scrimgeour
“David is 85 and has been cleaning windows in Bedford town since he was 14 years old - that’s 71 years of experience! He’s quite well-known around town. You see him most days, as he’s always scooting around on his bike and cleaning windows. I grew up in Bedford and the idea of the town and what it means to be from this town, is something I’m still exploring but David definitely represents this place. People like him are really important as they’re so ingrained in the community. He told me he has no plans for retiring just yet.”
Trini, Deptford by Harry Foster
“Trini is a legend of Ace Cafe – the famous London biker hangout – and an original member of the 59 Club. His home-built motorbike just happened to break down outside his old flat in Deptford as I was passing one Sunday. So he very kindly humoured me for a few minutes, told me some great stories of the old neighbourhood and allowed me to take a couple of frames.”
Fight for Socialism, Liverpool by Sam Jones
“This photograph was captured in the Smithdown Road area of the city, in the streets surrounding the church where my brother is a priest. The L15 and L8 areas of Liverpool have long been social melting-pots; they are ethnically and culturally diverse, working-class and full of lively hustle and bustle. Liverpool has for many years gravitated towards the political left, so the sprawl of graffiti reading ‘Fight For Socialism’ felt like a fitting tribute to my city’s state of mind and provided a striking backdrop with which to capture the two hooded youngsters speeding past me on a motorbike.”
Hackney, by Mia Gillen
“This was taken in my local area, Hackney Central. I’ve been working on a project trying to capture areas of London that have been subjected to gentrification. I wanted to capture the community and interview them about their feelings towards the changes. Otis [centre] owns and runs a food truck and here he is alongside two other gentlemen who had set up their own DJ decks next to it. The guy on the right had built the whole system himself which he can fold up in a case and carry it around with him. There were people dancing around, vibing and just enjoying the music, which I loved as I felt like this is what community is all about.”
Hulme and Manchester by Anni Kay
“This was taken at a squat party, in an abandoned building next to a car wash. It was a mixture of all the different subcultures in Manchester from the squatters to the queer community and underground rave scene. An event for the people, by the people. The DJ is Jack Banner. He does a lot of stuff in Hulme, where I live, and has a whole studio set-up in a flat. We’ve got our own version of Manchester culture and community in Hulme and meeting all these people from there and seeing them do all this amazing stuff is just so cool. Many of these underground parties have signs saying no photos – but I get away with a lot because I’ve grown up here. I’m honoured that they let me capture these mad places that loads of other people don’t get to see.”
The Hoppings, Newcastle upon Tyne by Maria Maza
“This photo looks like it’s from another era but it was taken this summer. The Hoppings is a travelling fair that comes to Newcastle every summer. Lots of photographers go because it’s vibrant, exciting and full of people, noise and lights. I’ve been going for years but I find myself looking for the quieter moments. I first caught sight of the boy because he was quite smartly dressed for the fair and then I realised that he was in front of this very old-fashioned pram. I tried to position myself so as not to disrupt the scene and to capture the moment as I saw it. I knew I had got something good. It just fell right.”
