Waiting for Summer

Waiting for Summer

Sunday 13 July 2014

Dougie Wallace - Stags, Hens and Bunnies

Ever since I got my copy of Cardiff After Dark by Maciej Dakowicz I have been thinking about going to Blackpool to undertake a similar exercise (a social commentary reportage-style monograph) that I was going to call "Blackpool Before Dawn" in response.  Unfortunately for me, Dougie Wallace beat me to it.  But, he did a fantastic job!  I was lucky enough to see the launch party exhibition in London and get a signed copy of the book :) 

Stags, Hens and Bunnies is one of the funniest collections I've ever seen.  Shot over a period of almost three years, Wallace made many trips to Blackpool to document the hedonism and debauchery of this popular seaside town and stage/hen party destination.  It is a reportage of the "no-escaping it" atmosphere of Blackpool, but there is also a tension behind the scenes; is Blackpool this centre of decadence and excessive behaviour, or is it a family seaside holiday destination?  And what of the local economy?  Would it survive if you took away the night-time economy?

These pictures (both exhibition and book) are striking, raw, colourful, brash, loud, comical.  The use of the flash helps to add to the sheen, the surprised looks, the gawdiness of the colours (lots of pink and spray tan).  There is the question of whether Wallace's subjects are being exploited?  In some respects that is true of all street photography, but I think you can see in a lot of these photographs are that the Stags, Hens and Bunnies are happy to be photographed, and also, let's face it, anyone who goes out in a funny costume is asking for attention.

There is no doubt that this collection does not show England at its cultural best, but they are very entertaining!  I need to find somewhere else now for my seaside monograph documentary!

References
  • Dakowicz, M. (2012) Cardiff After Dark. London: Thames & Hudson
  • Wallace, D. (2014) Stags, Hens and Bunnies. Stockport: Dewi Lewis Media

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