Photographs from After the Coal Dust and other projects have been exhibited in galleries and museums in the North of England and abroad, most of them shown with Bridget Gill, and the earlier ones with Freya Gill too. This page brings those exhibitions together.
If you are interested in showing the work, please get in touch.
Gallery Ten, Tokyo
28 April to the end of May 2022
A second showing at Gallery Ten in Tokyo. When we started photographing the streets around Castleford we did not imagine the pictures would interest many people at all – a good few locals actively disliked them – so seeing them on a wall on the other side of the world took some getting used to. With thanks again to Ken Uwaso for arranging it.
Hebden Bridge Town Hall
29 March to 25 April 2022
A selection of After the Coal Dust photographs at Hebden Bridge Town Hall in West Yorkshire, with an opening evening on 1 April where Bridget and I answered questions and signed books. Hebden Bridge is worth the trip in its own right – a thriving arts scene about eight miles from Halifax, and a short drive from Haworth and Brontë country.
When we saw After the Coal Dust being exhibited in Castleford, we just knew we needed to host it here. We were delighted with the results. John & Bridget’s photographs are exceptional, made all the more so because they are not staged. These are people and faces and situations we have all seen but don’t manage to capture: these photos manage that feat. We have a regularly changing series of exhibitions here with up to 13 a year: this show really stood out. We particularly enjoyed local people who featured in the pictures coming to see them, often for the first time.
Graham Mynott, Executive Director, Hebden Bridge Community Association
Queen’s Mill, Castleford
2 to 18 October 2021
Around forty prints from the After the Coal Dust project, shown in the restored stone-ground flour mill on the River Aire – a few hundred yards from where many of the photographs were taken. The exhibition opened as part of the Trouble at t’ Mill literary event, where I spoke alongside several writers and poets. Entry to the exhibition itself was free.
Gallery TEN, Tokyo
19 April to 26 June 2021
A joint photography exhibition at Gallery TEN in Tokyo, and the first time the work was shown outside the UK. Many thanks to Ken Uwaso for setting it up.
Doncaster Art Gallery
9 March to 21 April 2019
Around forty prints by John, Bridget and Freya Gill in the Community Gallery at Doncaster Art Gallery, showing life in the former industrial areas of the North of England after the closure of the main industries. Entry was free.
The exhibition was enjoyed greatly by both visitors and staff members at the Museum, and provoked much debate and reflection about the changes to life in the north of England since some of the big industries have closed down. John and Bridget were a pleasure to work with, and the exhibition was beautifully presented as well as containing many striking and memorable images.
Neil McGregor, Assistant Manager (Art, Exhibitions and Outreach), Heritage Doncaster
Bradford Industrial Museum
November 2017 to April 2018
After the Coal Dust photographs by John, Bridget and Freya Gill were shown at Bradford Industrial Museum over six months. The exhibition was given a double-page spread in the Bradford Telegraph & Argus on 5 February 2018, with a short interview and a selection of the photographs.
The prints are now part of the Museum’s permanent collection.
National Coal Mining Museum for England
27 February to 11 September 2017
A selection of photographs from the After the Coal Dust project at the National Coal Mining Museum for England, at Caphouse Colliery in Overton near Wakefield – a working colliery until 1985, and about as fitting a setting for the work as there could be. The exhibition was originally due to close on 29 May and was extended into September.
Unapologetically honest, and in some cases tinged with humour, this collection of photographs document another important chapter in the story of Britain’s post-industrial heritage.
Imogen Holmes-Roe, Curator of Art & Photography, National Mining Museum for England
Showing the work
If you run a gallery, museum or venue and would like to show the work, or would like me to speak alongside an exhibition, please get in touch. I also give talks to camera clubs and photographic societies, in person and over Zoom.