The inimitable Dougie Wallace comes out from behind the camera on 16 March, in a 30-minute documentary screened on BBC4 at 8.30pm. Part of the mini-series What Do Artists Do All Day? the programme follows Wallace on the streets of Chelsea and Knightsbridge as he shoots the images for his forthcoming book, Harrodsburg; it also shows him at work in Blackpool, and includes walk-on parts for photographer Martin Parr (who collects his work), and Dewi Lewis (who is publishing Harrodsburg).
Born in Glasgow and serving in the army before getting into photography via selling used camper vans and backpacking, Wallace started Harrodsburg after reading that a man born in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea has a life expectancy of 84.4, the longest average lifespan of anywhere in the UK; boys born in Calton in Glasgow – near where Wallace grew up – have a life expectancy of just 53.9. Harrodsburg won the inaugural Magnum Photography Award in 2016, and the series will be exhibited at the printspace in Shoreditch, where the book will also be launched at 7.30pm on 21 March.
What Do Artists Do All Day? is part of a photography season currently running on BBC4, which also includes a photographic history of the UK presented by Guardian photographer Eamonn McCabe; archive interviews with photographers such as David Bailey, Eve Arnold and Henri Cartier-Bresson; and a history of the family portrait.
For more information, visit the BBC site.
BJP ran an interview with Dougie Wallace on his Harrodsburg project in the February 2016 print issue, which was tagged “Shooting the Rich” put the focus on those with wealth. You can read the interview here, and buy the back issue via thebjpshop.com