Tom Wood likes talking. This is not just the exuberant conversation of a man excited at opening his largest-ever UK show. Talking to people and uncovering their stories is central to Wood’s 50-year-long practice. It is how he knows that the two ladies standing proudly in their gardens are called Mrs Leigh and Miss McCabe, and how the close knit, blue-eyed family at Seaview Cafe don’t get to see each other much because the dad doesn’t have many Saturdays off.
Wood started out in the 1970s with a degree in painting from Leicester Polytechnic, but he is known for his photographs of everyday life – many of which were captured in Liverpool and Merseyside during a period of huge social upheaval in the 80s and 90s. He chatted with people, agreed to photograph their weddings, took his camera on buses, to the shops, to football matches. Over his 25 years in Liverpool, Wood even attracted the affectionate nickname “Photie Man”, after which this exhibition is named.
