In Tish Murtha’s Youth Unemployment series, shot in Newcastle between 1979 and 1981, young men slouch and smile, cigarettes hanging from their fingertips as they study a hand of cards or share a private joke. Beside Murtha’s images in this show, a film by photographer Kuba Ryniewicz finds present-day residents of Newcastle and asks them what has made them happy today. The subjects talk about the sun, breakfast, connecting with friends and family. The answers are almost universal, and you could imagine the subjects of Murtha’s photographs responding in the same way.
Despite more than 40 years dividing these projects, they both capture the human pursuit of joy, no matter the circumstances, and the desire to seek comfort in the company of others. Both Ryniewicz and Murtha are celebrated for capturing their communities. Their ability to shoot raw, real, unflinching moments derives from the fact that they were there, living among it. It is this similar approach – and the fact that they both photograph residents of Newcastle – that has placed them together in an exhibition at the Baltic entitled Close to Home.
