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Thurstaston Beach - George Jones scenes, complete with new understandings of tranquility and emptiness. Photographs such as Isolation, which depicts a Manchester hotel with a single illuminated room, play with light and a strong composition to ignite a sense of loneliness, while being deeply atmospheric in its use of colour. The Past is a Foreign Country portrays another Manchester scene where a modern cityscape looms nefariously over an old industrial street. The image’s patchwork composition exposes gentrification as something palpable, layered and always in process, as well as demonstrating the precarity of history in the landscape. Expanding on human stories through a point of view that is often marginalised, Harry Arthur, Homeless in Liverpool is an image that depicts a man with the word ‘rich’ written across his fingers. Here, the hand replaces the face as the traditional subject of the portrait, and the viewer is confronted with a sense of identity from a sidelined perspective. Unity Is Strength, which illustrates a mostly unpopulated Liverpudlian street decked out in flags during the 2019 Champion’s League final, aims to address the importance of togetherness during a time of separation. Underscored by a table decorated in red, this photograph is visually striking in its celebratory tone, and its evocative depiction of community spirit. “I wanted to subtly capture the smaller moments of bliss and the honest expression of Liverpool’s communities, says its photographer Oliver O’Callaghan. “It’s important to daydream and reflect on these special moments.” For this photographer, escape through imagination is a crucial theme, and is here interpreted by reflecting on past celebrations and communal events. The tenacity of this image is clear, and its outlook is equal parts nostalgic and forward thinking. When layered with commemorative flags and banners, the city street starts to represent something new, speaking to the social unity of Liverpool’s people. Cranborne, similarly, emphasises the importance of community and friendship in the city, showing three figures playing with a football in a Liverpool street. Its light, composition and feeling of being in the midst of a game, gives the image an idyllic sheen. Images like Barry, which shows a cheerful man on the Albert Dock with pigeons perching on his head and shoulder, also put an interesting twist on the traditions of photojournalism, exposing the unapologetically joyous side to Liverpool life. Amelia Jones, who describes the photograph as telling the story of a “Liverpool-born man who still lives and works in the city, is proud to be a Scouser and is happy to tell the world.” says that they hoped to show a “happier side to documentary photography”, subverting viewer expectations. “It shows that Scousers have a joyful side, and that even the birds aren’t afraid to say hello,” adds Jones. There is a familiar warmth and strong sense of playfulness to this image of the photographer’s father, which demonstrates the strength of family and relationships in the local area. The photographer of A Flicker of Hope, an image of a Black Lives Matter protest last summer, was also interested in the social histories of the landscape that rests behind the image. Some of 2020’s most powerful and dynamic imagery has come from protest and this, as a photographic diptych that is almost sculptural in the strength of its light, is no exception. Sean Tadman explains that they took the photograph on the steps of St George’s Hall: “This imposing structure – a symbol of the fortunes made from the slave trade – fuelled the notions of injustice felt by the subject as she spoke about Liverpool’s history and the oppression faced by black people today.” The image exposes how the cityscape itself can be complicit in sustaining dark political conventions: “I found it shocking when looking into the historical significance of Liverpool in relation to the slave trade and how little we in the UK are taught about it, particularly as our colonial history has so much influence upon the UK’s culture, architecture, art, and oftentimes, financial relevance on an international scale.” According to Tate Collective Producer Niamh, this image particularly captures “what has been happening in the past year”: the changes, the protests, the Black Lives Matter campaign. The photograph’s monochromatic colour scheme is a deliberate attempt to flatten the time between the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s and that of the present day, demonstrating the contemporary relevance of these issues, and giving a sense of urgency to the image and its cause. Many of these images follow in McCullin’s footsteps FEATURE by exposing the histories embedded in the landscape, while demonstrating social change as being an integral part of our city’s political history. The final project is a celebration of the imagery that evolves organically from a time of constraint, as captured by local people. Speaking on behalf of Tate Producers, Laura’s assertion that the project “shows a feeling, in Liverpool, of openness” expresses the success of the project and its stories; while each image is unique and personal, they are fragments of a greater whole, contributing to a collaborative understanding of the North West through engaging with young local talent. ! Words: Leah Binns Unity is Strength - Oliver O’Callaghan The works in the exhibition will be shown across Liverpool from 7th <strong>April</strong>. Tate Collective will also run several day takeovers across their social media channels, showcasing entries and the artists involved. Locations of the billboards and further information on the project can be found via the link below. tate.org.uk/tate-collective/photographing-north-west @TateCollective Tate Collective is supported by Jean and Melanie Salata with additional support from Garfield Weston Foundation, The Rothschild Foundation, and Tate Patrons. 29