Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen’s Byker Revisted
If you were a child of the 90’s you might already be aware of Newcastle’s Byker District. Maybe, like me, you also reveal your age by referring to ITV’s most celebrated duo as “PJ & Duncan” too!
Whenever I’m in London I always try and visit one or two galleries. Actually, that’s true of most paces I go! But back in November I down in London and keen to checkout Tate Modern’s new extension aka the Switch House. While doing so I stumbled upon several photos of Byker, taken by photographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
This handful of black and white images were taken of the area during the late sixties and seventies. I found them utterly captivating and headed straight down to the Tate Modern bookshop in search for more! While doing so I came across this book ‘Byker Revisited’ which did indeed have more photos from Konttinen’s Byker of the sixties and seventies but also features her new photos of the area taken between 2003 and 2009. Bonus!
It is a truly compelling book full of wonderful photos, characters and stories. The inevitable comparison between the old and new photographs of the same locations is equally fascinating. I love this book for many reasons, and every time I open it I notice something new. It’s a photo book that is going to be revisited more than once, that’s for sure!