We dress up. We always have and always will. We dress up to celebrate. Indeed, there is no bigger indicator of a celebration than people dressing up. This collection aims to include a range of events that reflects who we are.
The Dresser Uppers
17 Years an Outdoor Smoker
There is no doubt that UK Governments of most persuasions are determined to phase out smoking. In 2007 the indoor smoking ban came in to effect, forcing smokers outdoors, and it was this anniversary and the impending demise of smoking that prompted me in July 2024 to try and get 50 portraits of outdoor smokers with an emphasis on background and space occupied.
This Sporting Life
This project is about Ealing’s sporting culture and is intended to be a celebration of the variety and breadth of sport played in the borough.
The Volunteers
When I retired in October 2021 I wanted to put something back, and the easiest way to do that is through volunteering. The environmental projects I help out with are not only worthy and important, but also help provide physical exercise and mental well being. And the volunteers are bright, energetic and down to earth. These are really good people.
Londoners
I have long been fascinated by people born abroad who end up settling in London. The why, when and how are the questions asked and answered in this project, and this collection isn’t about the transient – those here for work or studies – but about people who learn a new language and embrace a new culture. In my family it’s a big thing to leave your home town, but that jump both allows and encourages us to grow, and what I’ve noticed about those born abroad is just how much they bring to the party.
Protestors and their Placards
There is something very definitive about a placard, offering something more than banners, leaflets, megaphones and slogans. Yes, they can be generic but the potential is there to pander to the creative and cater for the individual. And they are very photographic.
T Shirts With Messages
Maybe 1 in a 100 T shirts has an interesting, eye catching message, usually on the front but sometimes on the back, and that message can be political, profound, informative or frivolous and that difference from the other 99 makes it well worth photographing.
Cyclists of Ealing at Ealing Art Trail
This is the second instalment of this collection, with perhaps one more to come and, like all my collections, won’t really come in to its own until many years hence. However, I do like the idea that a portrait collection can be put together with one eye on the future, knowing full well that if looked after the collection should not only survive but thrive.
This long term view derives from my background in archiving which also contributes to the way the pictures are presented with the need to ground the pictures with dates and locations, titles and display information. Perhaps, to some, there is too much information but I want these portraits to be unequivocal.
I also want them to be recognised a works of collaboration, that give voice to the subject and let them say, in this era of sharing and mass communication, what needs to be said and to ensure they have an element of control.
The cyclists of Ealing is my first and most advanced collection. I chose it because cyclists are reasonably confident people and the idea can be easily sold as a celebration of cycling, but it’s more than that. It’s an examination of us and a celebration of people.
Martin Sapsed Photography
Cyclists of Ealing at the Artisan Cafe
The Cyclists of Ealing
This is an exhibition about people, and though, ostensibly, intended as a celebration of cycling the collection and project has grown so that now I’m attempting to find a greater range and variety of cyclist to reflect who and what we are. I don’t think this collection of portraits will come in to its own for a while, but perhaps in a hundred years people will be able to look at this collection and maybe feel they have gained a better understanding of us.
The way I’ve chosen to present these pictures can be best explained by my background in archiving; the need to title, number and ground the picture in dates and details (by either the subject or myself), and even the choice of subject – small and innocuous, has been determined by awareness that sometimes the best things in any archive are the unique and personal. And if I have one eye on the future, then it’s fair to say I also have one eye on the past, for these are the kind of pictures that could easily have been taken a hundred years ago. Except maybe back then people found it easier to talk to each other.
Taking pictures has never been easier. We all have access to cameras and software that enables photographs to be enhanced and easily shared. But the art of the portrait photograph remains elusive. And in an age where we all have something to say as well as the means to say it, to take time out and put a bit of faith in a stranger displays a remarkable amount of trust at a time when it seems to be short on the ground. So, a big thank you to all the cyclists who have helped with the project.
I had in mind 50 pictures, both to complete the collection and as a useful number to fill a mid- sized gallery (if we ever get that far). Thus far I’m just over half way and suspect that even when I reach the magic number, the collection, though complete, will not be finished, and as long as I’m still in Ealing and still cycling there will always be the odd cyclist who catches my eye. Meanwhile if you, as a cyclist, find yourself talking to another cyclist who wants to take your picture for a portrait collection he’s putting together then I urge you to be brave and help the man out. The world needs more cyclists but it also needs more portraits.
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My Projects
Men and their Sheds
The Cyclists of Ealing
Martin Sapsed Photography 