In-Public | In-Public@10

Andy Morely-Hall

Trent Parke

The point of street photography, as I see it, is to trick life into letting slip a secret it had no intention of divulging. RT@porousborders

“Street photography can be defined as any photography that takes place outside our front door. The essence of street photography is that it is real, it is not set up and it depicts ordinary people going about their everyday lives. “Street photography tends to have attitude. Indeed the very word ‘street’ suggests something edgy. It can also be a little dark, or simply odd, but it is essentially an honest pursuit because it offers a poignant take on how we live our lives in public.

“Taking meaningful street photographs has never been easy. The writer Iain Sinclair likened it to trying to stuff fog into a bottle. Street photography requires an absolute devotion – which basically boils down to a lot of wandering with a camera – and a deep appreciation of the genre’s spirit and history. There is a rich legacy of street photography, which continues to resonate with many people from so called amateurs to those who endeavour to earn a living through photography.

“But photography is no longer quite so innocent and society, particularly in our western cities, does not view the taking of photographs in public spaces quite so kindly. Times have changed. There is arguably too much photography, too many perceived intrusions and we live in a culture of creeping suspicion. The protection of children, private property, especially that which is corporate, and crucially the debatable call of national security all threaten the sheer normality of taking photographs in public.

“When in-public was formed by Nick Turpin just 10 years ago, national security was not such a prominent issue. in-public was not primarily set up to defend the natural right of taking photographs in public places; it was simply Nick’s desire to gather together a community of street photographers – to create a ‘home’ – and above all else to celebrate street photography and to communicate this joy with other like-minded photographers. This anniversary exhibition of the in-public photographers, which now extends to twenty members worldwide, clearly illustrates that the joy of street photography can still hold true.” David Gibson, photographer and in-public member.

in-public are:

Christophe Agou, Blake Andrews, Narelle Autio, Richard Bram, Melanie Einzig, Adrian Fisk, David Gibson, Nils Jorgensen, George Kelly, Jeffrey Ladd, Jesse Marlow, Andrew Morley-Hall, Trent Park, Gus Powell, Paul Russell, Otto Snoek, David Solomons, Matt Stuart, Nick Turpin, Amani Willett.

in-public@10 forms part of ‘Urban Encounters’, an annual conference and associated events organised by the Centre for Urban and Community Research at Goldsmiths, University of London, which explores visual urbanism. This year, the theme of ‘Routes and Transitions’ brings together international researchers, academics, photographers and artists concerned with the transitional nature of contemporary urban space, considering the routes we make to, from and through cities. Tate Britain, Photofusion and the seaside town of Bognor Regis will be host to a range of events in May and June. For more information, visit www.urbanencounters.org.