Photowalk with @BlackCountryType aka Tom Hicks

Tom Hicks giving a short talk/slideshow about his approach to photography before the photowalk. This was put on by Centrala Space in Digbeth, Birmingham on November 12th 2022.

It was great to hear about Tom’s approach to photography and especially his influences. He has a well worked understanding of what has inspired and influenced him. He talked about a few key photographers/artists in his talk. Tom often focuses on the different type faces found on the street in signs. He particularly likes hand written or locally produced signs. He also likes patterns and colours found in urban street scenes and his focus is the Black Country. For more on his work talk a look at his website here.

He showed us examples from Typographica a Graphic Design magazine from the 1950s and 60s. He referenced photographers Hilda and Berndt Becher with their photo collections of images such as pitheads; William Eggleston who in the 1970s made colour photography respectable in the art world; George Shaw a Coventry based painter who painted housing estates and other normal locations and lastly Lewis Baltz who despite being a black and white photographer focused in the 1970’s on suburban landscapes and industrial parks - showing the void in the American dream.

We then went for a walk around Digbeth. The event was a response to the exhibition ‘Temporary Landscapes’ currently shown at Centrala Space, showcasing the work of @anka.gregorczyk and @lukaszszamalek. The sun was bright and low in the sky making for some stunning images. Images can be found at i: @centrala_space.

Tom Hicks’ images sold by him as postcards. Copyright Tom Hicks