A new exhibit displaying poignant photographs from a turbulent period in the history of Askam-in-Furness is due to go on display in Barrow-in-Furness later this month.
The exhibition, which is being presented by Signal Film and Media, an award-winning film and digital media charity, marks the first time the complete series of ‘Askam-in-Furness’ by Chris Killip has ever been displayed.
Killip documented working-class life in Northern England
Killip, who is considered one of the UK’s most important post-war documentary photographers, was well known for his documentation of working-class life in Northern England. The early 1980s were a time of huge social and political upheaval across the United Kingdom, especially in Northern England, and Killip’s series captured the lives of those present during this turbulent period.
To produce his ‘Askam-in-Furness’ series, Killip spent considerable time in the West Cumbrian community between 1981 and 1982. It was his ability to immerse himself within the community and gain the trust of local people that allowed him to create his series of intimate, life-affirming portraits. These portraits alongside images of urban, rural and coastal features displayed the interconnectedness of a place and the people who call it home.
Barrow-in-Furness will host the exhibition
The exhibition will be hosted at the newly refurbished Signal Film and Media gallery within Cooke’s Studio in Barrow-in-Furness, a town nearby to where the photographs were captured. This exhibition marks the reopening of the studio following a £1.4 million refurbishment, funded by Arts Council England and the UK Government Community Ownership Fund.
In addition to offering the public the chance to view the entire collection all together, the exhibition also contains previously unseen images by Chris Killip, taken during his time in Askam-in-Furness. These images were recently uncovered by Signal Film and Media during a research project with the local Askam community to reconnect with some of the subjects shown in the ‘Askam-in-Furness’ series. Also, on display will be two letters written by Killip to members of the local community.
A poetic record of a community
Phil Northcott, who has curated the exhibition, said
These images offer us an important and poetic record of a community shaped by industry, landscape, and resilience.
Discussing the importance of the images being displayed so close to Askam-in-Furness, Northcott added,
We know that Chris Killip developed a close relationship with members of the community and gave the portrait subjects their portraits to hang in their own homes. Coincidentally, one of these is my friend Lee, who was photographed in ‘Boy with Pigeon’ by Killip and given the print. Our new research project, which runs alongside this exhibition, is uncovering new stories that reveal more of Chris Killip’s time in Askam
Martin Parr of the Martin Parr Foundation, which is supporting the event, added:
Chris is without a doubt one of the key players in postwar British photography. He led the way in which he would befriend the communities he photographed, and this created the intimacy and strength of his images.
Signal Film and Media gallery is hosting a Miners Strike exhibition as well
The exhibition of Killip’s ‘Askam-in-Furness’ series is not the only chance to see the work of the renowned photographer. The Signal Film and Media gallery will also be hosting ‘ONE YEAR! Photographs from the miners’ strike 1984–85’. This touring show features work not only by Chris Killip but also by Brenda Prince, John Sturrock, Jenny Matthews, Roger Tiley, John Harris, Imogen Young, Phil Winnard and Howard Sooley.
The exhibition, which marks the 40th anniversary of the industrial action that defined a generation, spans the full year of the strike and includes images that depict the infamous clashes between police and flying pickets alongside images showing the camaraderie of those on strike. The collective result of this is an exhibition that shows the power and contradictions of photography as a tool of solidarity, propaganda, and people’s history.
The exhibition will also give visitors a chance to see rare posters, badges, records and publications associated with the miners’ strike.
Pictures show what really happened
When asked about his work, Killip once said,
History is what’s written, my pictures are what happened. It’s like a people’s history – the people who history happened to.
If you want to view that window into the history and who it happened to via Killip’s lens, you can catch both exhibits at The Signal Film and Media gallery, within Cooke’s Studio in Barrow-in-Furness.
Both Chris Killip’s ‘Askam-in-Furness’ and ‘ONE YEAR! Photographs from the miners’ strike’ open on Friday 19 September. For more information, visit signalfilmandmedia.com/exhibitions
Based on a press release by Signal Film and Media
