TATE PHOTOGRAPHY - SIRKKA-LIISA KONTTINEN

Focusing on two of Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen’s photographic series – Byker (1969–83) and Writing in the Sand (1978–98) – this enlightening book captures a working class neighbourhood and reveals the devastating impact that the redevelopment of Newcastle’s East End had on the community, but also the moments of joy of the group outings to the beach.

Born in Finland, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen studied in London, founding the Amber Film & Photography Collective with her fellow students, and then moved to North East England in the 1960s. She has been based in Newcastle ever since, deeply rooted in the local community. Konttinen’s love for this part of the world is at the heart of these moving but never sentimental pictures. Her photographs and Amber’s films were inscribed in the British section of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2011.

‘Before I ever thought of a project, I began photographing whatever struck me as beautiful, amazing, worth telling about … In all of my work, testimonies have been an important element of the projects.’ – Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

Thomas Kennedy is an Assistant Curator specialising in Modern British Art at Tate Britain.

The Tate Photography Series is a celebration of international photography in the Tate collection and an introduction to some of the greatest photographers at work today.

With the direct involvement of living photographers in collaboration with photography curators, these books showcase the best and most notable images taken across the globe, from city streets to seashores, moving across landscapes and through subcultures, in a visual travelogue of our world. By showing varied and international approaches to a subject, the series seeks to create a deeper understanding of what photography can do while also enhancing our appreciation of the lives of others.

Each book contains a new conversation between curator and photographer and is prefaced with a short introduction.