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Mik Critchlow

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Mik Critchlow (7 March 1955 – 7 March 2023) was a British social documentary and portrait photographer who made work about North East England, in particular about his home town of Ashington.[1][2][3] A book of this work was published in 2019 and he had a solo exhibition at Woodhorn museum in 2021/22.[2][4] Critchlow's work is held in the collection of Amber Film & Photography Collective.[5]

Life and work

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Critchlow was born and lived in Ashington, Northumberland. His grandfather worked as a coal miner there for 52 years and Critchlow's father was a coal miner. He left school aged 15.[2]

Beginning in 1977, he worked for decades on a long-term documentary photography project about Ashington, chronicling social change, including with its coal mining.[2][6][7] An exhibition and book, Coal Town, depicted "the colliery and the people who worked there before and after the mine was closed."[2] He also photographed the harsh way of life of people collecting seacoal from the beach near Lynemouth power station, close to Ashington.[8]

Death

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Critchlow died on 7 March 2023, on his 68th birthday.[1][9][10]

Publications

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  • Seamen – The NUS Strike 1988 – 1989: Photographs by Mik Critchlow. Black Diamond, 2013. Edition of 200 copies.
  • Hirst. Manchester: Buddleia / Morpeth: Bait (Museums Northumberland), 2018. With a foreword by Andrea Hawkins. Edition of 500 copies.
  • Coal Town. Liverpool: Bluecoat, 2019. With a foreword by Derek Smith.[2]

Solo exhibitions

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Collections

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Click here to view the tribute page for Mik Critchlow". funeral-notices.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Mik Critchlow: Tributes to acclaimed documentary photographer". BBC News. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  3. ^ Morton, David (26 June 2019). "Images from Coal Town by Mik Critchlow". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b Whetstone, David (30 October 2021). "Photographer Mik Critchlow and his visual history of Ashington". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Ashington - Amber Collection". Amber Film & Photography Collective. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Social documentary photographer to show his images of everyday life at Morpeth venue". Northumberland Gazette. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Documentary photographer captures coalmining stories of Ashington". ITV News. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  8. ^ White, Susie (14 November 2022). "Country diary: This beach is ever-changing. Today it is black with sea coal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  9. ^ https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2023-03-10/renowned-photographer-known-for-capturing-coal-mining-industry-dies-aged-68
  10. ^ Ghosh, Ravi. "Remembering Mik Critchlow, the North East's great narrator". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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