29/05/2025
It was an honour to chat with Ian Wright at the gallery preview last week. A quote from Ian’s piece in The Royal Photographic Society Documentary Journal, 2021 is included in the gallery:
‘Mik Crichlow was a rarity. When he began documenting his hometown of Ashington, Northumberland, in 1977, his deep roots in the area gave him unique access and opportunity to photograph the community as 'one of the tribe' (a phrase he often used).
Mik's photography is exceptional in its depth and range, its integrity and sensitivity, its consistency of style and technique. Like its author, it speaks softly and communicates much, simply by showing us the reality. His work illustrates the significance, and historical importance, of buiding a body of work over time, with narrative and purpose - not for proft, but becouse it matters.
Community events captivated Mik such as whippet racing, the Miners' Picnic, the Boxing Day dip, and Wednesday Bingo. He photographed family and neighbours, First-footing on New Year's morning, shopkeepers in the town, the sea-coaling camp. His shots of the street layout in the town and the panoramas of colliery, power station and town are charged with atmosphere. His portraits come alive and tell us so much; he is alert to humour and the incongruence of luxtopositions. His detail shots, for example - the pile of discarded miners it and clothing in the closing down pit - are masterpieces of symbolism.
Above all, Mik’s eltortless grasp of composition produces imagery which illustrates the power that documentary photography at its best can have in this image-saturated wotd - the potential or it to become part of our collective memory.’
Read the full article below 👇🏼
https://tinyurl.com/yr6fyf9j
Further reading www.mikcritchlow.com
Image courtesy of Colin Davison Photography ©️
