From sunrise to sunset, on the famous promenade and surrounding alleys in the resort town on the Irish Sea, the Russian-American-Berliner Benita Suchodrev lets life unfold before her camera. Relying on her intuition, during a couple of summer days the photographer documents her encounters with strangers. Her manner is daring and swift, always capturing the “decisive moment.” Like all her documentary and portrait work, housed in private collections in Berlin, Moscow, and New York, the high-contrast black-and-white photographs in 48 Hours Blackpool are intense and devoid of sensationalism. Suchodrev’s debut book is a sociocultural study rich in authenticity and poetry; a contemporary but timeless journey of discovery through bingo parlors, hot dog stands, and burlesque theaters where wacky types, moms and pops, kids and seagulls go to play.
“Blackpool is after all a weekend getaway; a traditional destination for no-holds-barred stag and hen parties and wacky characters. It is also a playground for kids with painted faces wearing candy-colored tops, gangsta hoodies, and fake tattoos, fervidly dragging their moms and pops (and vice versa) […] “Kids eat free!” A sense of self-perpetuating urgency and appetite pervades the air, accompanied by the frantic cry of seagulls. In this vortex of bread and circuses, mouths and hands are always busy with fish & chips, Blackpool rock candy, and cell phones. Mini dramas and the occasional contemplative moment pop up when least expected. I hold them forever still by the click of the shutter.”
– excerpt from Seagulls and Metaphors by Benita Suchodrev
Benita Suchodrev – 48 Hours Blackpool
Texts by Matthias Harder, Helmut Newton Foundation and Benita Suchodrev
Hardcover 30 x 24 cm
160 pages
120 duotone illustrations
German / English
Book Signing Paris Photo 2018, 08.-11.11.2018
