Young Souls exhibition by Dean Chalkley
Posted in: Uncategorized
Regular readers may recall our blog post last year about photographer Dean Chalkley‘s New Faces exhibition of images of young, well dressed mods dancing around in a studio. Well, he’s been at it again, this time photographing young Northern Soul fans for a new show entitled Young Souls which is currently running at PYMCA‘s central London gallery, Youth Club, just off Carnaby Street…
Chalkley’s images look to celebrate today’s Northern Soul scene, a British phenomenon which goes back to the 60s but which is currently enjoying something of a revival as young music fans discover the music played at legendary clubs such as the Wigan Casino and Twisted Wheel in the North of England in the 60s and 70s.
As well as creating a new body of work depicting young soul fans doing what they love best (dancing), Chalkley wrote, produced and directed a short film also called Young Souls, working with cinematographer Benoir Soler and editor James W. Griffiths. The film can currently be seen on 125 Magazine’s website here.
“I didn’t set out to create the definitive story of Northern Soul, but I did aim to celebrate it,” says Chalkley of the Young Souls project. “The photographic aspect is a study focusing on the current burgeoning generation of young people getting into the scene, whereas the film brings the atmosphere and wonder of Northern Soul to life. I didn’t want to just recreate the past, but I did aim to produce timeless works that illustrate the culture as never before. It is great to show how people dance to Northern Soul music, but more importantly how it is a passionate experience, and how its devotees young and old are immersed in it.”
Young Souls runs until August 6 at Youth Club, Unit 2.1 Kingly Court, London W1B 5PW. For more information and opening times, visit pymca.com
To see more of Chalkley’s work, visit his site at deanchalkley.com
Post a Comment