Hirst

In 2015 Mik became Hirst’s artist in residence for a bait (Creative People & Places) project and spent 18 months documenting his hometown, Ashington. In particular, the Hirst ward. His aim was to capture the friendships, resilience & humanity in the community.

He encountered residents that talked to him about their lives. Some families had lived there for generations and some had moved more recently for work, or relocated to Hirst due to regeneration or fleeing distant war. Many of them talked about community and the importance of belonging and making the most of life. Mik’s photographs are of resilient people leaning on each other in times of need and makes visible some people who are ignored or unseen. The subject themes are universal and the story of Hirst’s community dealing with economic and social change is applicable to towns and cities across the UK and beyond.

East Ashington (Hirst) is the second most densely populated locality in the County of Northumberland.

In an area where 35% of people of working age claim a benefit/ are in employment deprivation, income deprivation and nearly 40% of children aged 0-15 live in a household in income deprivation.

A book entitled Hirst, Mik Critchlow was published by Buddleia Projects in 2018, ISBN Number 978-1-9998692-0-5 a limited number of original copies are available here