Tom Wood spent 25 years capturing characters on the streets of Merseyside.
From trips to Greatie market to matchdays at Anfield and Goodison Park, Tom's photos offer a fascinating snapshot of life in Liverpool during the 80s and 90s. Born in Ireland, Tom Wood moved to Merseyside in 1978 and lived here until 2003.
It was during this time he earned the nickname "Photie Man", as he spent his time photographing people and places not usually represented in art at a time of great social and political change. Tom's photos are set to feature in a new exhibition called "Photie Man: 50 Years of Tom Wood" at the Walker Art Gallery, celebrating over half a century of his work.
READ MORE: Vibrant images captured by 'Photie Man' of lost Liverpool
The exhibition opens on May 20, with highlights including photos taken at the now demolished Chelsea Reach nightclub in New Brighton in the 80s. Iconic photos from Tom's most well-known series ‘All Zones Off Peak’, which were shot as he travelled on buses across the city during off peak hours, will also feature in the exhibition.
These will appear alongside rarely shown works from Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard and around Liverpool’s two football grounds. Shots from Tom's ‘Irish Work’, made since the 1970s, will also feature in the exhibition, together with recent landscape photography made around his current home in North Wales.
Tom's work is not organised as a series of projects, each with a start and end date. Instead, he works daily on an unfolding, diary-like recording of his observations and encounters.
He spends many years returning to particular places, to refine and distil the essence of the locations and the people in his photographs.
Tom Wood said: “I have had major retrospectives around the world – in China, France, London - but never in Liverpool, where I photographed every day for 25 years!
“I didn't want a show for myself or my career, but rather to give the work back to the city where it belongs. I can't think of a better venue for these photographs than the Walker Art Gallery. Many a time I would visit – after the markets, after the football – to walk around the galleries and unwind. The energy of Liverpool and its people has informed all this work – it was everywhere I went, everywhere I looked. All I was doing was tapping into that. It has been a real labour of love.”
Charlotte Keenan, Head of Walker Art Gallery, said: “Through his photography in Liverpool and Merseyside, Tom Wood offers visitors from the local area the opportunity to revisit many recognisable people and places from our history. I’m thrilled to be hosting this exhibition at the Walker, which will be a celebration of Tom Wood’s career – offering followers and newcomers alike the opportunity to take a more in-depth look at his work.”
Tickets for Photie Man: 50 Years of Tom Wood are on sale now. Adult tickets cost £9, with concessions available - members of National Museums Liverpool can visit for free. On the first Sunday of every month, Liverpool City Region residents can visit the exhibition at the discounted rate of £4.50 for adults and concessions.
For further details, click here.
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