Exhibition

Here are some images taken of the Exhibition at Crosby Library which ran from 6th-17th December.

Exhibition Posters/Flyers

EXHIBITION

'Archiving Crosby' is a photographic exhibition celebrating Crosby village,

the project came about because of the fear that the village would soon change

to make way for a new Sainsbury's, as well as the desire to make a document of

the village for the Library's archive. Rather than focus and dwell on the

prospect of change, the project documents the village in terms of its existing

spaces and offers fond memories held by the local's through a series of interviews.

This exhibition will showcase the artist's representation of the village through

photographs, illustrate the vast changes to the village from the 1900's to now and

also detail the local's memories of the village, to ultimately depict the village

in the most honest way achievable and show why our village is loved and treasured

by so many.

The Exhibition will run from Tuesday 7th-Friday 17th December, in Crosby Library on Crosby Road North.

Times will be provided at the exhibition for when the artist will be there to answer any questions or if anyone would like to have an interview about their memories of the village.

Final Exhibition Prints

These are the images that will be used in the exhibition at Crosby Library, These 4 images were again shot on a bronica using 120 film, but this time I used PanF film which is less grainy and has a lower film speed. I wanted the images to be lighter than the last set of images so I used the camera to get exactly what I wanted and I am very happy with the outcome.

Exhibition Images

I am currently re-shooting some of the previous images, but this time i am including people and cars, this is due to the fact that archival images need anchorage so that we can determine the year that the image was taken, this is also so that the images depict reality more so than the previous images have.

I am shooting using medium format black & white film with varying film speeds, this is to find the best quality and greatest description possible.

I am exhibiting these images as well as some of my previous images and interviews in Crosby library in early December, I will then be donating some images to their archive.

Interview 3

Interview 3

Wednesday 10 th November @ 2.14pm

Crosby Village, outside Boots

How long have you lived in Crosby?

Sarah: Well, I have been between Crosby and Seaforth for the past 31 years

So did Crosby village play a big part in your childhood and your teens?

Sarah: When I was in school it did

So did you go there in your lunch times or anything?

Sarah: We weren’t supposed to go in lunchtime but we normally did, and after school....

Anything that happened in Crosby that sticks out in your memory?

Sarah: In Crosby village?

Yeah, yeah. But kind of when you walk through the village and look at certain shops, your like Oh I remember when this happened and….

Sarah: Only the butchers, that we used to fancy the butchers….that’s the only thing I remember, we used to let a bus go so we could stay outside and like, eye up the butchers.

I think the bus was about 15p so we would always have like 5p left or something, out of your 20p, go in the 50p shop, get some sweets and go and stand outside the butchers, we were only about 11.

Interview 2

Interview 2, Tuesday 9th November @ 1.51pm, Inside Finishing Touch

So is a lot of your memories, kind of based around the village? Did you spend a lot of time here?

Trisha: I lived here from the age of seven yeah, because we used to live in Thornton.

In Virgin’s lane, there was a massive house, it was like a manor house that was knocked down, so if you go down Virgin’s lane and turn right it was a cul-de-sac, because as a kid we went there one weekend and we rummaging in all the muck and everything, trying to find any treasure, as a child, so I was 8 or 9 then.

And Saint John’s road was always Aladdin’s cave to me, it was Pandora’s box, because it was quant, it was you know, everything that a child liked to open a box and find in it, something different, on every corner there was bakery’s, and you could smell the fresh baking of bread there.

That’s what I remember as a child, here (Crosby village) it was always bustling, always packed, and it didn’t matter what day of the week you came down here, you met somebody you knew, so to go shopping, you couldn’t just say “I’m going to nip into Moor lane for half an hour”, you’d be here for 3 or 4 hours because you’d be chatting.

Extracts from Interview transcripts

Interview 1, Tuesday 9th November @ 1.07pm

With Richard and Sylvia, outside Home Bargains.

So how big a part did Crosby have in your childhood and teenage years?

Richard: Massive

Really?

Sylvia: Yeah because we were the sixties babes weren’t we, the entertainment and everything was here, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Hurricanes, it was here, you never had to go into Liverpool.

Is there anything that springs to mind, that’s a really nice memory that you have when you walk through the village?

Sylvia: They’re all nice memories really aren’t they?

Richard: Yeah

Sylvia: They’re all nice memories, when you think back to when you were a teenager, you used to walk in the village and see all your friends.

Interviews...

If you would like to be involved in sharing your individual or group memories about Crosby village then contact me on rach_radford@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Black & White?

The following images are black & white versions of some of my favorite images from the past 3 shoots, as much as i like the colour versions (because they are a reflection of reality), i think the monochrome versions add a more documentary/archival feel. In a photographic archive, like the one in Crosby library, the photographs used are usually black & white or are photocopied, therefore being presented to the public in black & white.

When i finally structure a selection of the images and supporting text into small hand made books, the images will be printed in black and white (to keep costs down) so i think it is important to edit and see them in monochrome at this stage of the project. However, when i eventually donate the images to the library, i will submit them in colour, as they will then photocopy and file them away for future reference.

Shoot 6

I shot these photographs around sunrise on Wednesday 3rd November, between 7.15am and 7.35am. This was the last shoot for this project and i am really happy with the images i have, i think that they are edited in the right way and show a quiet, grey representation of the village, ready to be accompanied by memories and stories from the people who populate it.

Shoot 5

The images below where all taken at between 7.15 am and 8.15 am on Tuesday 2nd November, this was to ensure that the majority of shops would be closed and also to get a similar quality of light as i got from shooting at sunset. I really enjoyed shooting at this time of the morning because it created a sense of the village being deserted and quiet, which is the feeling i am after. When editing the images, i started to think about why it is that i want the village to be portrayed in this way, and i came to the conclusion that, when walking through the village on a daily basis we don't give the amount of attention that the buildings and spaces really deserve. I haven't looked up and really noticed how beautiful some of the buildings are, especially at the time of day i have been shooting.

As i said in my last post, i am recording the bare shell of the village without its people, i am then going to conduct informal interviews and hopefully fill the village full of their invisible yet potent and traceable memories.

Shoot 4

This shoot is a continuation of the last one, i shot at the same time of day and with the same aim, to capture the village without the distraction of people or traffic. Although, parked cars are slightly more difficult to avoid than people so exceptions have been made...

My next shoot will be a continuation of this one, but i will be photographing the village at sunrise rather than sunset, this is to get a similar quality of light and also to catch the village without the distraction of people or traffic.