Unseen work by acclaimed photographer goes on show

Ian Beesley has postponed retirement to display a selection of his previously unseen photographs

An exhibition of previously unseen images by a renowned social documentary photographer have gone on display for the first time.

Ian Beesley, from Bradford, has spent five decades using his camera to document life in the north of England, creating an archive of around 200,000 photos.

The photographer, who turns 70 this month, had intended to retire this year following his "swansong" show in 2022.

But, due to popular demand, he postponed his retirement to collate a selection of unseen images from his archive for an exhibition at Salts Mill in Saltaire.

A game of piggy-in-the-middle, as photographed by Mr Beesley, is one of the photos on display at the exhibition

Mr Beesley said the response to his previous exhibition at Salts Mill in 2022, had been "phenomenal" and had convinced him to carry on working.

"It was supposed to be my swansong," he said.

"But two years later I’m still getting messages and calls from people who saw the exhibition, or bought the book, wanting to tell me stories about family members that are featured, tales of their own experiences of working in industries long gone, playing in streets long since demolished and tentatively enquiring if I had ever photographed this mill, or that factory."

The new exhibition, entitled Life Goes On, includes pictures documenting the decline of heavy industry in the North - and its impact on both individuals and communities.

Much of Mr Beesley's work focuses on those heavy industries no longer in evidence in the north of England

Among the exhibition's most notable photos is a picture of an elderly woman called Dolly, holding the image of a young child.

Dolly was confined in Lancaster Moor Psychiatric Hospital for having an illegitimate child in her early teens. She never left the institution and died about a year after Beesley photographed her in 1996.

Dolly was incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital for having an illegitimate child

Mr Beesley said: "I have never forgotten Dolly and the other inmates of the Moor.

"I knew putting her picture on the wall of Salts Mill, and telling her story, would have an impact, but I could never have imagined the power of showing the world this picture.

"People from all around the globe, including many who have worked in psychiatric institutions, have contacted me about Dolly: sharing their own experiences and those of their families, sharing the horror of Dolly’s situation, or simply sharing their sorrow.

"This is the power of photography. It’s very humbling to be able to tell these stories."

Mr Beesley's work puts the north of England centre stage