Who? Rob Bremner lived in Liverpool for more than twenty years, working as a freelance photographer in and around the city. During the 1980s, while studying photography at university, he began an ongoing project documenting the people of the Everton Valley and Merseyside, a project that was never finished.
What? Currently on show as part of Look/13, the portfolio of images is a colourful foray into urbanised, working class England, set amid the bleak backdrop of a declining industrial milieu. Looking at them, it is impossible not to remember the ravaging effect of Thatcher’s cuts and the economic hardships undergone by northern towns in the wake of industrial upheaval. Yet this is juxtaposed with the natural ebullience of the characters who feature; whether they be the big haired teenagers posing outside pharmacies, the elegantly headscarved ladies peering into the lens, the dashing trio of lads basking in the sun around their gleaming red car or the pair of girls in lurid primary colours and geometric prints, positioned against a wall of graffiti.
Why? Now based in the north of Scotland, Bremner is no longer a photographer, and his project – as denoted by its title – remains incomplete. Yet despite the time that has elapsed since these shots were taken, there is a sense of timelessness to the works that holds the eye. The fashions are familiar, with the acid washed high-waisted jeans, topknots and oversized blazers, and, as we too quake amid times of economic insecurity, this is a world that we know too well.
Look/13, the Liverpool International Photography Festiva, takes place in spaces across Liverpool between May 17 - June 15.
Text by Tish Wrigley
