Tribes of Bristol captured in snapshot exhibition

A snapshot of Bristol reveals a city of tribes, from people wearing the same brand clothing to those with brightly coloured hair.

Street-life photographer Hans Eijkelboom spent 11 days in the city centre during July 2019, people-watching and recognising common types.

His work was commissioned by the Martin Parr Foundation which holds an archive of contemporary images of the UK.

Street Fusion continues Mr Eijkelboom's work "People of the Twenty-First Century" in which he photographed pedestrians on the streets of cities from Amsterdam to New York and Paris to Shanghai over a period of 20 years.

To begin the new work, he went to "the most crowded place and just started looking at people".

He photographed for no more than two hours at a time.

"There are so many, many differences in the way people wear things," he said.

"It was astonishing to see."

Common trends presented themselves from people wearing raincoats to those carrying an accessory such as a small dog or street food.

"People put their own identity and place on their clothes," he said.

"When two people are wearing the same thing you see the person more than the trend."

The Foundation houses Martin Parr's archive spanning 45 years as well as a growing collection of works by British and Irish photographers and images taken in the UK by international photographers.

Mr Parr said the new exhibition is an "analysis of people" and "the clubs they belong to".

"It shows the value of documentary photography" which reveals "how aspects of our society change".

The exhibition, comprised of over 750 photographs, is laid out in a grid of three lines with groups of similar images placed next to each other.

Street Fusion at the Martin Parr Foundation at the Paintworks is Mr Eijkelboom's first solo exhibition in the UK.