For someone who had never heard of Craig Easton, his exhibition Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening? has made himself a name I won’t forget. On a personal level, the representation of northern communities is meaningful to me as a member of the northern town of Barnsley, a place sharing similar histories and societal judgements with Craig’s representations of Blackburn and Blackpool. Craig’s photographs featuring rows of terraced houses backing onto streets filled with shoeless children represent the hardships continually faced by these groups of people, as well as the sombre faces of people who are still suffering from the devastating impact that Thatcher had on their communities. This depiction reflects situations commonplace in other northern areas, including my own, where people are still facing economic challenges that are a product of Thatcher’s closure of the coal mines. Craig’s work is not just reflective of the communities photographed, but is also suggestive of the widespread, shared experiences across northern England and provides a sense of unity between the people.

Craig’s projects, Bank Top and Thatcher’s Children, feature in the exhibition, showcasing hard-hitting, thought-provoking photographs from Craig, paired with the judiciously chosen stories behind the photos that make the exhibition even more meaningful. Using photography as an effective way of representing the challenges faced by northern communities, Craig shows the harsh realities of the impoverished groups experiencing centuries of economic hardship.

The series, Bank Top, was created in response to the often negative misrepresentation of northern communities by the media; Craig’s project attempts to dispel the stigma surrounding these places. Craig being acclaimed as Photographer of the Year (2021) at the Sony Photography Awards, with his series Bank Top, shows the admiration people have for the communities and commends Craig as a storyteller, ultimately, showing the effectiveness of telling these people’s story through photographs.

Accompanying the photographs in the exhibition are quotes from the subjects, videos of Craig’s experiences with the photography process and books displaying his work, all of which help Craig’s goal of supporting marginalised groups. “A callousness is evident in the way in which certain issues are framed by the media and policymakers, and inter deliberate use of the word “segregation” to describe Blackburn. The very word segregation is an incendiary, laden with hate and political power, used out of context to coerce and control; fuelling the social media platforms that breed prejudice in the algorithmic sphere.” This quotes embodies the negative stigma that Craig disputes through his work and resonates with me and others from northern communities, presenting the shared feelings that the media is a judgemental outsider force, misrepresenting our towns and often failing to understand the difficulties faced by their members.

Alongside Bank Top, Thatcher’s Children is a brilliant collection of insightful photographs that show the life of one family from Blackpool. The photographs are hard to look at; a very real representation of the impacts of poverty on children, showing them sleeping on a bed without sheets or in small, overcrowded family homes with inadequate facilities and outdoor play areas that are littered in or abandoned.

Craig’s ongoing contribution and efforts to improve the community is admirable, demonstrated through his revisitation to the family in Blackpool from 1992 to 2022, showing 30 years of commitment to supporting the family. Craig connects with all the communities on a personal level to gain their trust in his representation of them and creates a bond with his subject, making it clear that he admires and respects everyone he photographs and aims to provide them with the positive representation that challenges stereotypes created by the media.

Text: Dani Haigh

Images: Rob Battersby