Mass Observation : This is your photo exhibition

This was a fascinating exhibition at the Photographers' Gallery which demonstrated the role of photography in the Mass Observation Archive. I have read some of the Mass Observation material set out in Simon Garfield's Our Hidden Lives ( Ebury Press 2004) which set outs some remarkable diaries from post war Britain which provide a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary people just after the Second World War. So I was attracted to this particular exhibition as I was intrigued to see what part photography has  played in the Mass Observation ( MO) since the experiment began in 1937.


The images chosen spanned decades from the 1940s to more recent Directives set in the 2000s including black and white as well as colour images with contributions from such as filmmaker Humphrey Jennings and photographer Humphrey Spender as well as members of the public. Alongside these images there were examples of anecdotal evidence from people's everyday lives. The first part of the exhibition covers 1937 - 48.

Humphrey Spender : Parliamentary by-election - children hanging around outside 1937/8 c Bolton Council

Researching Humphrey Spender ( 1910-2005), I found that he was a pioneer of the documentary style of photography who joined the MO team in 1937. I was interested to learn that he felt images of people worked bet if they were unaware of the camera. Certainly it seems that he took very little equipment with him and often concealing it with a mackintosh. I wonder if street photography has become even more of a challenge these days given people's increasing concern about personal space and the intrusiveness of photography into people's everyday lives  i.e. when out and about the high street...and suspicion that images could be taken for the wrong reason or used against them e.g. by the 'authorities'. Again I wonder how much time was actually spent amongst the subjects being 'studied' by MO given the approach Chris Killip took in getting to know the people who became the subject of his work What happened, Great Britain 1970-1990.

The second part of the exhibition features photographs, many snapshots, that come from questionnaires called Directives.

Image taken by Observer no. 2203 , a reply to the 2007 summer directive ( You and Gardens )

The above image is an example of how photography started to become a more central part of the narratives sent in by people about their lives. Understandably the images seem far more personal, maybe more directly emotional  than the earlier ones taken by such as Spender.

I had never heard about the MO Directives and wondered how people got to hear about them  - obviously many people did find about them judging from the many individual 'home' photographs on display. Looking at the MO website, it seems that you can apply to be an observer ( i.e. writer ).They are currently only recruiting male writers aged 16-44, living in all regions except the South East...see http://alturl.com/4pzti

I was also interested in  this link takes you to the Photographers' Gallery and a current project inspired by the MO:

http://goo.gl/OulP1Y


A great idea and all in all a very interesting exhibition..