Overview

During the 1970s, London-based photographers joined together to form collectives which engaged with local and international political protest in cities across the UK. This book is a survey of the radical community photography that these collectives produced. The photographers derived inspiration from counterculture while finding new ways to produce, publish and exhibit their work. They wanted to do things in their own way, to create their own magazines and exhibition networks, and to take their politicised photographic and textual commentary on the re-imagination of British cities in the post-war period into community centres, laundrettes, Working Men’s Clubs, polytechnics, nurseries – anywhere that would have them. The laminated panel exhibitions were sufficiently robust, when packed into a laundry box, to withstand circulation round the country on British Rail’s Red Star parcel network. Through archival research, interviews and newly discovered photographic and ephemeral material, this tells the story of the Hackney Flashers Collective, Exit Photography Group, Half Moon Photography Workshop, producers of Camerawork magazine, and the community darkrooms, North Paddington Community Darkroom and Blackfriars Photography Project. It reveals how they created a ‘history from below’, positioning themselves outside of established mainstream media, and aiming to make the invisible visible by bringing the disenfranchised and marginalised into the political debate.

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9781848224094

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Reviews

'It offers a detailed look at some important yet rather undervalued figures in the history of 20th-century British photography who deserve to be brought back into focus.' - Art Quarterly magazine 'Stacey's book includes copious illustrations of placards, posters, scrapbooks & more...For those interested in the social and intellectual history of the community photography movement, this is a satisfying & illuminating volume.' - Tom Allbeson, Source magazine 'Stacey's research is outstanding... she has marshalled this information into an intriguing account of an exciting, idealistic, and sometimes fractious period.' - Diane Smyth, Photomonitor 'Essential Art Books of 2020' - Elephant magazine 'Stacey has written a rare and important book which integrates word, image, artistry and activism in the real lives of working people and those who documented their lives and struggles, and although it records events and initiatives nearly half a century ago, its relevance to now-times is total.' - Chris Searle, Race and Class Journal 'it is both an enlightening history of this period and a critical reference book for the present. Indeed, although the advent of social media has reshaped the visual landscape, the strategies employed by the collectives still resonate on a theoretical and practical level today.' - British Journal of Photography

'It offers a detailed look at some important yet rather undervalued figures in the history of 20th-century British photography who deserve to be brought back into focus .' - Art Quarterly magazine

'It offers a detailed look at some important yet rather undervalued figures in the history of 20th-century British photography who deserve to be brought back into focus .' - Art Quarterly magazine 'Stacey's book includes copious illustrations of placards, posters, scrapbooks & more...For those interested in the social and intellectual history of the community photography movement, this is a satisfying & illuminating volume.' - Tom Allbeson, Source magazine 'Stacey's research is outstanding... she has marshalled this information into an intriguing account of an exciting, idealistic, and sometimes fractious period. - Diane Smyth, Photomonitor 'Essential Art Books of 2020' - Elephant magazine 'Stacey has written a rare and important book which integrates word, image, artistry and activism in the real lives of working people and those who documented their lives and struggles, and although it records events and initiatives nearly half a century ago, its relevance to now-times is total.' - Chris Searle, Race and Class Journal

Author Information

Noni Stacey is a photo historian, writer and political researcher.

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