“Performers” photography exhibition to open at Nantwich Civic Hall

Photographer Laura McCann will open her popular “Performers” exhibition in Nantwich Civic Hall next week.

The exhibition features a series of unfiltered photographs of people who perform for a living.

It’s already proved a hit in Liverpool, and will be in Nantwich for a week before moving to Birmingham.

And it will feature South Cheshire performers, including Liz Ellis, BBC Radio Stoke presenter, BBC Midlands TV presenter Beccy Wood, Nantwich poet Steven Langstaff, and talented Nantwich musician Thea Gilmore (pictured, above).

Laura said: “It is a project I’d been thinking about for a while but it really took shape as an exhibition during lockdown when I noticed an increase in very edited selfies online.

“I originally studied photography at art college when everything was still on film.

“Back then it was a very time consuming and expensive practice and one I just couldn’t afford to pursue.

“So I ended up graduating in Media Production and working in television, predominantly as a script editor and finally a screenwriter.

“I suppose it was another way of telling stories with moving pictures but I never lost my love for photography.

“Digital advances have made photography a part of many people’s daily life and platforms like Instagram means sharing images is easy.

“However, technology also allows us to drastically change the way we look and I worry about what that’s doing to our self-esteem and general mental health.”

In March, Laura saw a study by City University of London which found nine out of ten people alter their pictures and 95% feel pressure about their body image.

“It made for stark reading and I decided I wanted to produce a series of unfiltered portraits that I felt supported the idea of us all being enough as we are,” Laura added.

“Whilst Covid made shooting in other countries impossible, restrictions also meant that many UK-based performers had more free time.

“I was lucky to work with some incredible people.

“Those featured are from a broad range of areas both professionally and geographically.

“From actors, musicians and dancers to a fire performer, a preacher and a politician, the list goes on.”

The exhibition will run at Nantwich Civic Hall from November 18-25.

Entry is free and Laura will be there daily to chat to anyone who wants to know more about the shoots or the artists involved.

For more details visit Lauramccannphotos.com, Facebook Laura McCann Photos, and Instagram @lauramccannphotos