On His Doorstep
Stephen McCoy has been photographing the people and landscapes of Merseyside, North West England, for nearly fifty years. “Proximity”, a retrospective exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol gathers work from across his career, strongly tied to the familiar terrain of home.
The exhibition moves through different series: from his early "Housing Estates" (1979–1983), capturing the uniformity of new homes in Ainsdale, to his residency in Skelmersdale, where he documented daily life in a town marked by economic decline and failing infrastructure.
From Personal Space © Stephen McCoy
From Skelmersdale © Stephen McCoy
From Housing Estates © Stephen McCoy
More conceptual projects, his "Archaeology of a Carpet" (2003) turned vacuum dust into a record of domestic activity, while "Personal Space" (1980–1984) playfully depicts family life using tight crops and unusual angles. As Martin Parr observes, "Some of the best work—poignant and powerful—is made on the photographer’s own doorstep."
From Archaeology of a Carpet © Stephen McCoy
From Skelmersdale © Stephen McCoy
From Housing Estates © Stephen McCoy
The exhibition “Proximity” is on view at the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol, UK, from October 2nd to December 21st.
