Projects >> THE CHILDRENS SOCIETY PHOTOGRAPHS

My first substantial commission was from the Childrens Society which was, at the time, Britains' third largest charity supporting young people.

The brief was to show, with pictures, what it was like to be growing up in specific parts of Britain - chiefly in the midlands and the north - which had lost out during the economic boom of the Thatcher years.

Presented as a series of billboard posters throughout the UK, it was the first charity push in Britain to use real situations - no models, no make up, no retouching - since the infamous 'Shelter' campaign of the 1960's, photographed by Nick Hedges.

I continued to work beyond the commission, which eventually became my first touring exhibition, shown in London, Liverpool, Newcastle and Brighton in 1986.