Under Your Nose: scene is set for Islington photography exhibition

Morrison's Spyglass - taken of a young family on Essex Road - is also on display. Image: Richard Morrison (Image: Archant)

Under Your Nose, which is on show at Islington Square for a month from October 24, comprises a small gallery of images captured by Morrison over the course of three years, each exploring the community and the people who call Islington home.

Morrison began his career in the film industry working on title sequences for films directed by the likes of Tim Burton, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Tom Ford. While his recent book Seen London spans 80 images of the city as a whole, Under Your Nose hones in on typical scenes right on his doorstep.

“I had finished my book Seen London, and this exhibition was sparked after someone close to me asked if I had thought about doing something that focuses on the local area.

“My partner, Andrea, came up with the name Under Your Nose. In five years time people will hopefully look back at this and think ‘is that how we were? Did we really wear those shoes?”

The author of Seen London put together his collection of photos over a three-year period. Image: Richard Morrison (Image: Archant)

The exhibition was first staged at The Lamb pub on Holloway Road, where Morrison’s candid photos of people and scenes around Lower Holloway, Highbury and Angel were displayed from July until September.

For Morrison, capturing the essence and emotion of people in their everyday life is key.

“I just like photographs that speak to people. I hope I am capturing the human spirit as I see it.

“People’s gestures are amazing. There’s an image at the show of a scene on Essex Road (pictured above). It’s of a mother holding two girls quite close to her, while a little boy is pulling away to the left. He has got a very old-fashioned toy, like a telescope, and all he is focused on is looking through it.

“I captured that moment because while you don’t really see the girls or the mother, you get a profile of this boy. It looks like it could have been taken in the fifties.”

Morrison, who hails from Highbury Crescent, says it’s important for photographers to be persistent. Those who return to the same location and take photos at different times, in different lighting, with different subjects, will eventually get their rewards.

“I’ve been to the Barbican many times but the best photo I have taken there is when I peered over a parapet looking down after it rained and the sun was pouring through. It’s an abstract image but you know it’s the Barbican. Looking is never enough, you’ve really got to see.”

Under Your Nose starts at the Islington Square Marketing Suite, 126 Upper Street, on Wednesday October 24. More information on Richard Morrison can be found here