Commissioned by community arts company Transitions17, Seeing Southbank was shot over the long hot summer of 2017 in Southbank, Middlesborough. Comprising of a series of photographic workshops and popup street based portrait studios, the project aimed to provide a point of cultural exchange in an area of very little arts provision. Southbank has suffered high unemployment, crime rates and substance abuse, alongside poor life expectancy and lack of opportunity. The photographs include images of place, alongside portraits of community members who, against this dark background, are still proud of where they come from, and who still greet strangers with a characteristic warmth.
The piece was a community engagement commission in an area of low arts provision. Much of my work has, over the years, been this kind of thing; working with communities, and finding ways to engage people (often described as 'hard to reach') in arts activities. I was given the use of some space in a local community gallery (known as Saabat Gallery), where Transitions17 was based. I used that as a base to run photography workshops, and where the work was eventually shown after the project ended.
Over a period of about two months I ran a drop-in workshop every week, which was attended by a variety of people; some from a local arts group, some from a local addiction centre I approached, and some just came as they heard about it through posters and flyers I distributed. When we exhibited the project the workshop participants all had their photography included in the show as well.
I set up a series of street based popup photo studios using a portable flash system with an Octobox, on a boom arm, with my camera mounted on a tripod. I had a small sign on an A-board advertising 'Free Portraits', with some details about the project. Anyone who wanted to get involved could have a free portrait. On some occasions I gave people a remote trigger and let them take their own portrait, I called these 'Posh Selfies'. I liked the idea of playing with the notion of the 'selfie'; I was curious about how people would present themselves when creating a self-portrait without using a mobile phone.
Jonathan Turner is a documentary photographer working in the North of England. Focusing on themes of community and identity, Jonathan is interested in how people belong to, and identify with, people and place. Jonathan’s work consists of publicly funded projects and commissioned pieces, often with a focus on community engagement.