This piece of work is simply called Dead Shops in Brighton and Covid-19. It’s a Brighton photo documentary with an abstract and slightly surreal presentation style. Deliberately so.
If you’ve been following my posts you’ll know that my work generally revolves around photographing people. But not this time. I hope this work resonates with you.
I created this Brighton documentary at the beginning of April 2021. Non-essential shops are allowed to reopen from Covid-19 Lockdown on 12th April 2021. It’s rather poignant and sad that it’s too late for the shops featured in this documentary. Unfortunately they’ve already gone bust.
Hitting my Stride Photographically
Due to Covid Lockdowns I hadn’t picked up my cameras between December 2020 and the end of March 2021. That’s 3 months of inactivity photographically speaking. I found it hard to get back into my stride. On the plus side, my photographic activity and creativity finally awoke in April 2021, thank goodness!
Looking but not Seeing
I’m guilty of looking but not seeing sometimes. What do I mean? I often walk into Brighton for some street photography. Sometimes the images flow, sometimes not so much. The point is that by concentrating on photographing humans I’m guilty of not seeing what else is going on around me sometimes. I feel that these images relay the story of what is going on with our shops, both locally in Brighton and nationally. In other words, I clearly saw what I wanted to convey to you through my images.
Covid 19 and the Retail Sector
Maybe you’ve seen my work on the economic collapse in London? It’s a hard hitting photographic documentary about the affect of Covid lockdowns on small businesses. This photo documentary about dead shops in Brighton is a different angle on the same subject. That subject is the decimation of the High Street, shops and small businesses, vastly exacerbated by the essential Covid-19 Lockdowns.
Retail had been going through a tough time before the pandemic, mostly due to the rise of online shopping. Sadly, forced closure during the pandemic has been the final nail in the coffin for many shops, including small independents and household name chains. It’s been a tough 12 months!
Click on the photos to view full size:
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You can learn more about my work as a professional photographer in Brighton and Sussex here . Alternatively, you might be interested in my Brighton street photography here.
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