A kind of dignity

I was recently sent a link to the work of Steve Harrison, a selection of pictures that capture what I can only describe as the grittier side of life. The pictures are black and white shots and form a series entitled, A Kind of Dignity.

The link was sent to me by Rosie, Steve's daughter, as sadly he died last year. Rosie told me that her father worked in the film industry and travelled around the world professionally for many years.

But alongside this he had a passion for photography and it was this that he used to visually portray what she described as, "his deep outrage about society and the gap between the rich and poor".

I've picked out a few of my favourites and placed them in a gallery which you can see here. There aren't any captions, the pictures stand as they are.

Rosie told me that:

"Steve did this for no one other than himself , never really realising or accepting how remarkable his work truly was."

But that's not the whole story. I felt it best to let Rosie explain in her own words:

"Steve Harrison was an amazing man, he was a truly magnificent photographer and to the young lady that is writing this he was an absolutely brilliant teacher. He was a father of five children and adopted me when I was 17 and had he not, I wouldn't be here.
 
"He taught me photography and I too now share his views about poverty and social injustice. No matter what happens in my life my fathers work has shown me that I should have the greatest respect for other people's plight.
 
"Steve was diagnosed with prostate cancer in his late 40's and this spurred him on to make his photographic stance about social inequality, how the lack of an education or the expected opportunities can leave some at a huge disadvantage throughout their lives.
 
"As Steve's cancer spread and became terminal he didn't have the energy to be out there taking pictures, but what he did have were the negatives of a lifetime of photography. One by one we began scanning them and slowly but surely I had a window into my fathers life.
 
"Before Steve took me into his life as his daughter I had been through hell and back but we were the best of friends and throughout he gave me the foundation to fight my troubled past and overcome it like he did.
 
"I had a large exhibition in Cornwall of my own photographs when I was 19 and I really couldn't have done it without the man that taught me to see how people really can, and do, maintain against all the odds, a kind of dignity."

Steve's pictures are a strong record of a personal vision, a way of seeing and recording those he met and in some cases sought out. It's a collection of pictures well worth exploring. I'm sure that his vision will be carried on by Rosie, you can see her pictures here.

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