Mood Board:

Peter Mitchell is a British documentary photographer born in 1943, and is known for documenting Leeds and the surrounding area for more than 40 years. Born in Hope Hospital, Salford, Peter lived briefly in the North West before relocating with his family to London during the 1950s. He grew up in Catford and attended Hornsey College of Art. Following a brief period working as a trainee travel agent for Thomas Cook, he worked for a number of years in the Civil Service as a draftsman. Later, he found steady employment as a graphic designer. Peter moved to Leeds in 1972, into the house in Chapeltown where he still lives and works today. Whilst having a stint working as a delivery driver around the city, he started to photograph the shops, houses, and factories that didn’t have long before they were to be demolished – or “goners,” as Peter referred to them.

Mitchell’s photographs have been published in three monographs of his own, as well as his work being exhibited at Impressions Gallery in 1979, and nearly thirty years later was included in major survey exhibitions throughout the UK including at Tate Britain and Media Space in London, and the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. Mitchell’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Royal Photographic Society and Leeds Art Gallery. Peter’s striking images were an essential part of the colour documentary scene in the seventies and eighties and often featured shopkeepers and factory workers outside their places of work.

Not much is known of Mitchell’s practice through the 1990s and early 2000s. He did continue to photograph, filling his home with negatives, prints and artwork. Mitchell’s work came back to public attention in 2007 with its inclusion in How We Are: Photographing Britain, exhibited at Tate Britain. By this time, Mitchell’s one-time co-exhibitor Martin Parr had become significantly influential not only with his own work, but in his championing of British Documentary photography as a whole. Parr identified Mitchell’s significance to the development of British photography and with some cajoling, and the help of American publisher Nazraeli, Peter’s first Monograph, Strangely Familiar, was published in 2013.

Sir Yank’s Records (& Heavy Disco). Leeds, 1976.

 “I’m a Buddy Holly fan, that’s why I took it. The single Rave On was released in 1958, it’s one of my favourite Buddy Holly tracks!”.

Mitchell focuses on capturing old, casual buildings such as red brick houses without a pleasing aesthetic or any modern features. This can be seen as unusual from a viewers perspective as typically photographers focus on photographing large or beautiful buildings. Mitchell differs from these artists, making him stand out against them as he has a much bigger sense of realism throughout his work, without using many editing apps either. He tends to keep his work very natural looking, and always taken from a deadpan angle, allowing maximum capacity for the surroundings of the subject too. Overall these factors give a significant, vintage and antique aesthetic. From this, we can gather that Mitchell is a practical photographer, who manages to make simple buildings seen from different views, which opens up our outlook on Anthropocene photography. This ultimately influences other photographers, who also capture the impact of humans on the environment, to perhaps also take on a more realistic approach. Overall, the commonsensical approach that Peter Mitchell takes forces the viewer to realise the changes that have happened in the world due to humans and how we have adapted to a more modern world.

“I’ve been a fan of Peter Mitchell since I first saw his photograph of Mr. & Mrs. Hudson outside their newsagents in Seacroft, Leeds, in 1974. It is a brilliant image that is part of Peter’s body of work documenting Leeds from the 1970s onwards.”

Image analysis:

Mitchell has also produced images like this where slightly more modern buildings are featured next to the industrial buildings, ultimately creating a contrast between the new and the old. Although, I can infer that the shop on the left is still not a modern building, but the use of painting it white reflects today’s world as we now see the colour frequently. This effect enhances the similarities and differences between them which adds a sentimental mood into the image, showing how humans have adapted to modernity. The use of including a church, which is connected to the shop, could also be significant as it may highlight that the couple in the image are religious and they may own the church as well as the shop. From this, as a viewer I could also assume perhaps the artist is religious too, and he may be photographing his passion to communicate a message with the viewer. Additionally, Peter Mitchell has involved the sky and some background into his photo, adding a more casual aesthetic, which can take the viewers eye away from the main subject in the image. As I can see the sky is a dull, white shade this can be seen as reflecting the emotions hidden behind the image. Perhaps Mitchell is implying he might be sad by the new changes and portraying them through the emotionless tones throughout.

In contrast to this, we can also see that half of the shop on the left has been knocked down, with what we assume as the shop owners still standing at the entrance. From this we can presume that they have owned the shop for many years and are about to get it knocked down. This links to the Anthropocene as humans and their updated, advanced technology has caused many buildings etc to be knocked down and replaced by more modern versions. This again adds to the sentimental affect throughout the photo, and perhaps Peter Mitchell can relate to this feeling and is sending a message through his photography to people, so we can see the damage and change.

Overall, this image is effective because it explores the contrast between the new and old, while also incorporating a sense of realism. The artist also manages to create an overall mood throughout one image, as he includes many features that tell a story without speaking. I find this very inspiring as Mitchell has a unique perspective and aesthetic in his photos despite capturing every day, simple buildings.