Having lived near Ludlow for 25 years I am aware there are parts of my hometown I have never been to and places I take for granted. This Photographic series - ‘Ludlow – The Other Side’ takes you away from the tourist trail revealing what often goes unseen. The Project is a collaboration with the South Shropshire Furniture Scheme, a social enterprise helping those experiencing poverty and discrimination.
“Ludlow… is probably the loveliest town in England” (Betjeman, 1943). It is thought of as a picturesque and wealthy town but hidden away, like in any town, there are areas of people living in social housing with issues of poverty, inequality, unemployment, drug use and mental health problems. According to the Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance:
‘30% of children in Ludlow are living in poverty’.
‘Photographs are a means of making ‘real’ (or ‘more real’) matters that the privileged and the merely safe might prefer to ignore’. (Sontag, 2004). These images of faded grandeur, housing estates and detritus were taken during walks covering the whole of Ludlow, the centre, the outskirts, the backstreets and alleyways. They are of what most would walk by without noticing or caring about. They stood out to me because of their beauty in decay, their randomness, their sense of loss and abandonment. They document our socio/political times.
All Photographs are for sale, 50% of profits will go to the Furniture Scheme. Prints can be on paper, aluminium, acrylic or wood at various sizes. Contact me for prices.
There will be Exhibitions at the Rockspring Community Centre and at Renaissance later in the year.
Thank you for looking at the Exhibition, Any feedback would be gratefully received. Watch this space for Exhibitions in Ludlow when the Coronavirus is over.