Millennium Point today was the last of the main People Project sessions. Great place to do it – thanks to Caroline, Andrea and Nick.

Getting a pose sorted!

We”ll be back in Handsworth on June 5th at the Library to run a session with Kieran Connell from Birmingham University – see http://inbirmingham.wordpress.com/

Hope to see some old and new faces there – here’s the flyer:

We are well underway with the People Project – self portraits in collaboration with the Accord Housing Group and part-funded by the Arts Council. We’ve run three sessions for staff and active residents and today we did a public session at the Caldmore Festival. What are the odds of it raining today after such a brilliant couple of weeks. Well it did so we abandoned the tent on Caldmore Green and squeezed into the entrance of Caldmore Housing’s offices. In the end it was another great session with a wide range of participants from local residents, most of the local police force including the Inspector on his day off and the Lord Mayor. Brilliant work from Timm and Emma and of course Margot from Caldmore Housing. Despite the unexpected location it was a smooth operation. I’ll post images as soon as I can. Next is a session at the appropriately named Conkers on Tuesday 1st June. And there will be a website soon at www.thepeopleproject.org.uk

Below Timm uses specially large scissors to cut off the paper at the end of the day and Emma and Margot ham it up.

We had another great session – this time at the New Art Gallery Walsall on October 10th 2009. It was a Well-Being day and we were doing it in collaboration with Caldmore Housing. There were stalls and health sessions throughout the gallery and we set up in the entrance lobby – it was tight for space but it was great as everyone entered and left passed the stall so we had many takers – literally. I’ll post some images as soon as I can but in the meantime here’s a shot (top) of Timm on the camera with Rudi. Below is the Self Portrait of the team – Timm, Emma and Rudi did most of it but Margot and I helped out.

Brian Homer

Its 30 years since Derek, John and I were planning Handsworth Self Portrait so when Kieran Connell came to see me this week about his micro-history of Handsworth it set the memory going.

He brought a copy of David Attie’s book Russian Self-Portraits with him and we talked about the influence that had had on us. Derek and I reckon we only saw one image from that set – probably in an early issue of Camerawork. So I set to on the web to see if I could find copies of Attie’s book. I also fished out my old Cameraworks but I am missing the crucial copy so back on the net I found a copy of issue 10 Portraits which may be the one. The upshot is that I have three copies of RSP coming – one for each of the three HSP organisers plus the Camerawork.

Talking to Derek later he reminded me that Irving Penn was another influence so I set off again and mistakenly went for his Dahomey images when the real influence was Worlds in a Small Room. He went round the world on assignment for Vogue armed with a tent and a backdrop. His striking images have a lovely flat light which we thought we could use effectively. I find his project somewhat disturbing – a little too reminiscent of the anthropological images from earlier photographers with an apparent distance between the photographer and his subjects.

I ended up buying a copy of Worlds in a Small Room from an internet bookseller in Bridport and its was only when we called me to offer me a good deal that I realised that he was John Taylor who was one of the founders of Ten 8 and who was around working in Stourbridge when we did HSP.

The book I have bought from him is his personal copy so might conceivably be the actual book we saw when we were planning the shoots. Small world indeed.

Brian Homer

Stuck in the office today while two guys sand the studio floor (yes they are Villa fans since you ask!) so this is the ideal opportunity to update the site – something I’ve been meaning to do for ages.

So far I’ve put in a selection of the shots from the Caldmore session in October together with all the original Handsworth shots that are held in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. What’s amazing is that self-portraits nearly always work and great images are often created. Digital shooting and showing people the shots on computer within minutes of them taking their picture adds greatly to the atmosphere at the shoot and really gets people involved. So much fun to edit and review the images on screen and  a reminder of what a blast it is to run self-portrait sessions. In an increasingly cynical world its great to meet people in such a positive context.

The recent sessions at Caldmore and Soho House have emphasised the way the old sessions have links right up to date. The sessions at Caldmore were run in conjunction with Margot Lambert of Caldmore Housing and Margot was photographed in the original sessions. And it wasn’t until after the sessions that I remembered that Emma Jo Tucker’s parents were also both photographed in 1979 – circular or what? But its fulfilling to have creative connections like this.

And last week I met up with Derek Bishton and John Reardon for the first time in five years to talk about archiving the original project images. And then almost immediately afterwards I was at Derek’s 60th where even more people from the past where living it up as usual!

Although the tentacles of the past were reaching out in the last few weeks but rather than just looking back at the original sessions its is refreshing to be also creating new images of people today.

Brian Homer

I recall the Handsworth Self Portraits in 1979, and still have the print of my own self portrait, but until we set this up in Caldmore in October 2008 I had no idea of the impact this project could have.

As a tool for engagement it has an immediacy which beats anything else I’ve been involved with.  But it was the impact which this had on individual participants which excited me most.  Everyone who took part, even those initially reluctant or shy, emerged from the temporary studio (a tent on Caldmore Green) with expressions of pleasure and pride.

The resulting portraits, all set against a plain backdrop which said nothing about the individual or their environment, present such a positive collective image of the community.  These people could be anyone, anywhere, but the reality is that some will have only momentarily forgotten worries about money, poor health, feeding the kids, a violent partner or going to a job which doesn’t fulfil them.  But none of this shows in these portraits.   What we see is a vibrant portrayal of the Caldmore community.

Margot Lambert, Head of Housing and Care Services, Caldmore Community Housing

If you haven’t seen the Stan’s Cafe show All the People in All the World then you are missing a great event. Its made of piles of rice and you would not believe the interesting facts and figures that are in the show – its informative, funny, and sad. They give you a grain of rice at the start so here’s “me” back in the office working on my laptop.

Its on until October 5th in the Jewellery Quarter see:
http://www.thericeshow.com/

Brian Homer

We have now completed three session of Self Portrait Birmingham. One was at The Snow Hill, a hostel for men and the other two were hosted by the St Basil’s Project.

We have started editing the pictures and I’ll post some of them soon.

Brian Homer