Byker

Originally published in 1983 by Jonathan Cape, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's 'Byker' is recognized as a modern classic of photography. The work documents a close-knit community in an area of Newcastle that was the author's home for seven years and which was destined for wholesale redevelopment. Captured between 1970 and 1981, the photographs provide a poignant social study of working-class life on the eve of its destruction by bulldozers. The collection is noted for its intimate portraits and documentation of demolition progress, capturing the 'wisdom of the eye and the heart' in a community that literally no longer exists.