In 2002 I was invited to create an exhibition of photography by Reading Museum, the subject matter being ‘People and Places of Reading’.
It opened in March 2003 in the main gallery at the museum and ran for three months. It consisted of over 140 images, all black and white, with the sale of prints and book of the show raising over £4,000 for a local special needs school and two of the photos acquired by Reading Museum to be held in their permanent collection.
21 years on, I am immensely proud to have been asked to re-imagine it with a new exhibition, 'People & Places 21' to be sponsored by and held at Haslams Estate Agency, in Reading in October 2024, with co-lead sponsorship by Jacobs the Jewellers.
The new exhibition will not be as vast, but will feature some of the original subjects and some new subjects to reflect the town’s diverse population and changing physical landscape. The idea is to show how the town has evolved in the past 21 years.
Again, all the photos will be black and white, probably my prefered medium, as it concentrates the eye on the subject and you're not distracted by colour.
This time I am aiming to raise funds for No5, a local mental health charity which specialises in helping young people in the area with mental health issues.
The exhibition prints will be available to purchase, as will a celebratory booklet which will include all the exhibition photographs as well as extra photographs of Reading, my home town.
If there are any local businesses or benefactors who would also like to sponsor the exhibition so as much money as possible can go to No5, then please get in touch.
Photographically this project helps me push my boundaries in technique and lighting, to ensure every subject is captured at their best, or in the case of the urban landscape, at its most interesting.
My passion has always been photography, creating beautiful, thought provoking and interesting photographs that will last for generations and provide a lasting legacy. This creative outlet has enabled me to help local causes that I believe in as well as providing, in this case, a historical record of my home town.
