Ex Offenders

David Goldblatt was born in South Africa and has been a photographer since 1963. Over the years he has produced a number of photographic essays examining aspects of South African society. His concern, when we met him in 2012 and invited him to work in the Black Country, was with crime which, in numerous ways, has become an overwhelmingly important part of life. David is not a social worker or a journalist; he seeks to make photographs and tell life stories that might deepen our understanding of people and circumstances - to see people who have committed crimes not as the sudden forces and threats that many have experienced, nor as names in news reports, but as individuals.

"Given South Africa’s history and present conditions ... I, in fear, humiliation, helplessness and anger at hold-ups threatening force and knives and guns, have asked: Who is doing this to us? Who are you? Are you monsters? Are you ordinary people – if there are such? How did you come to this? What is your life? Could you be my children? Could I be you? I decided to explore these questions through photographs and words. I wanted to meet people who had done crime, or been accused of it, and punished. I wanted to meet them not as incarcerated criminals, but paroled or free. I wanted to photograph them not in re-enactment of crime, but in stillness at the scene of crime. And I wanted to record whatever they wished to tell me of their life. And do this not as a journalist or an activist, but simply out of a wish to know. The project was broadened when I was invited by Multistory to make photographs and I chose to pursue a similar enquiry to the one I have done in South Africa.”

- David Goldblatt

David’s portraits have extended captions that reveal the story of the ex-offender and we designed a way to present the captions and portraits together. The work was exhibited at Winson Green prison in Birmingham and Strangeways prison in Manchester where we worked with prisoners from both institutions to install the exhibition with David. At Winson Green we had a special opening when we were allowed to invite a few people from outside of the prison to attend.

Ex Offenders at the Scene of Crime was produced as a book by Steidl which you can find here.

David died in 2018 but his legacy lives on through his books and prints to see and hear more about his work with Multistory watch the interview with him here.