BEEZER Until Now presents the 40 year archive of the artist’s photographs of Bristol, London, New York and Tokyo’s underground music and graffiti scene and youth culture over the past four decades. It is the entire photographic archive, published in full for the first time in four volumes.
The first volume of the series is a richly illustrated archive of images from Beezer’s early days, charting the rise of Bristol’s explosive music scene, club nights, street art and prominent musical, countercultural and political forces and of the time including Gil Scot Heron, Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack), Pulp, Ari Up, Nurat Fateh Ali Khan, The Wild Bunch, Fearless Four, Neil Kinnock and key music and cultural figures such as Ari Up (The Slits), Mark Stewart (The pop group and Mark Stewart and the Maffia), Adrian Sherwood, Andi Oliver, Miquita Oliver, Keith Allen, Kevin Allen, and many more. Beezer captures the social and cultural dynamism of Bristol through his images of political protests and the city itself with community and celebrated club scene in its core.
The outlandish fashions and subcultures of the time feature prominently across this photographic time capsule capturing the soul and spirit of this joyful yet anarchic era while bringing together some of Beezer’s most iconic early images acrossGlastonbury, Notting Hill Carnival, Womad and more. This evocative monograph presents a powerful portrait of the early 1980s Britain through the prism of countercultural movements and communities that came to shape the cultural and political landscape of the country.
The first volume is followed by Volume II showcasing Beezer’s London and New York years and final volume chronicling his work and life in Tokyo from 2005 until now.
Beezer’s work has been previously featured in some of the most prominent newspapers and music publications including NME, VICE, NPR, The Observer, The Guardian and more. His images have also been featured in BBC and Dazedtelevision documentaries on the Bristol music scene, James Lavelle and Banksy.
During his extensive career, Beezer has photographed some of the most iconic names in music, fashion and more including Vivienne Westwood, Tricky, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, George Clinton, Futura and more. His work has been shown around the world in exhibitions including Beyond the Streets at Saatchi Gallery, The Vanguard exhibition at Bristol M Shed Museum, The Streets of Beezer at The Mount Without, Diesel Gallery, Tower Records, HMV Tokyo and Bristol Museum.
