Characters & Community with Ben Brooks | Museum of Youth Culture

Characters & Community

With Ben Brooks

Photographer Ben Brooks talks us through his practice and peers from first nights out at under 18 gigs in Brighton to shooting on stage with stars of the scene. Ben cites the creative power of young people as one of his inspirations and what’s drawn him back to photographing youth culture over the years. Also photographing Knives Down, Bikes Up, an initiative started to reduce London knife crime, Ben understands the importance of community in nurturing young people and showing up for them.

Interview by Esta Maffrett | 13.07.23

How did you get into photography?

I started pretty late you know, i was a film buff originally, just heavily into films, I was like quoting Apocalypse Now at 14. Weird kid. And then I sort of followed that once I got my act together at school, followed that to uni, and realised I hated studying film. It’s just the worst, you study your favourite films over and over again, it just ruins that a little bit. But in the process of that, I picked up a DSLR to initially shoot short films. Then just started taking photographs from there really and left uni with the most unemployable degree in Film Studies. I started working in Social Care, so like elderly, homeless, halfway houses, and learning difficulties. A broad mix, but just kept shooting really. Just as a creative outlet, I was trying to get myself in any Grime gigs, anything that interested me, like protests, anything I could squeeze myself into, I'd do that alongside the care work. And then one day, I got lucky and got myself on tour D Double E and Novelist, then clocked into the care home the day after that, which just spun me. But that was a turning point for me, really, where I could see myself doing this sort of, like, professionally and as a career, you know.

You say you got lucky, but I guess you were working at it for quite a while really?

Yeah, I mean, just like blagging and sliding into rappers' DMs, you know, constantly doing that. Just looking at anything that I could shoot which piqued my interest really.

Music is a very central focus for your photography, how do you decide on what visual language you attach to a sound when you take photographs? or is it experimentation?

Sometimes I feel like I don't know. But a lot of the time I just go off energy. Basically, it's music that I'm a fan of, I grew up listening to Grime. So me photographing those artists is always nice. I feel like I have one particular style of photography. And I do kind of just apply that to each artist, but only if the artist has that sort of energy that I look for. So like, I only go into gigs that I enjoy. I get more creative when I appreciate the energy and appreciate the music, or the artistry - whatever form that may be. So obviously, it helps if the rappers aren't just deadpan, which some of them are - usually when they’re not performing, which is understandable. So yeah, I think I bounce my creativity off the subject basically. And I hope to sort of translate that into my work.

So on a portrait shoot day, how do you structure that? How much involvement does the subject have in the process?

So I try to communicate and see what kind of aesthetic they’re going for, what sort of emotion, I guess. But at the same time, I kind of want to stick true to my style and direction as well. So it's always a fine line, like a balance. When I approach artists myself, then you do have to consider that balance a little more. Because obviously if they were to approach me then, I know that they're probably looking for something in my style. Whereas a lot of the other times it’s just finding that balance and rolling with it on the day. It also depends where you're shooting. If you're doing a studio shoot, then it can be a bit more particular as to what look we want to achieve, whereas if you're doing environmental portraiture stuff there's certain ways of how I like to do it. You know, trying to capture the person in environments and surroundings that help convey who the person is and what they’re about.

“My ethics, and my social consciousness aligns with the causes, but I don't think that's enough. So I said to myself, Okay, I could actually contribute in some small way with my camera and show the work in a particular light.”

What attracted you to portraiture?

I started off just taking photographs in the street. I hated the fact that in film, you had to rely on so many other people to shoot or create something. So I loved the idea of just walking around campus, walking around the city, just with a single camera on my ones. I think initially, I was apprehensive to approach people in the street, or take individual portraits, which I think a lot of photographers can relate to. And then eventually, you just kind of grow out of that, get that confidence and start approaching people. Long story short, I didn't start with portraiture but just started leaning into that more, more recently, in the last few years.

I feel like Grime and portraiture go hand in hand so well.

I guess with rappers, Grime, stars, it all comes with a certain ego, which is not a bad thing. But I mean, if you look back to Grime battles, it's all me against you, who can spit the best, who has the best bars, etc. It’s competitive, which reflects in their aesthetic. Even just like any sort of music star, they all have some ego, because they're the star. So that obviously translates well to portraiture, because they are the subjects, they are the focus. But there's photographers like Simon Wheatley, one of my big inspirations. He manages to sort of capture that essence, as well as including all the environmental stuff around them, be it friends, their homes, or whatever, to show a more three portrait. It’s something I try to produce in my own work.

Where did you grow up? And did you feel like part of a scene?

So I grew up in Brighton on the south coast. My parents came from London in the 90s. Both my sisters were born in Homerton, but I was the only one to be born in Brighton. And Brighton, obviously, like you had a bit of Grime, but it wasn't like London. But it was only disconnected by a little motorway. So we had a lot of that influence in the city. I mean, my friends would just listen to Grime and Rap. I think my first Grime gig that I went to was when I was like 15 was P Money, playing down on West street. I remember trying to down a bottle of vodka before we went in and me and my mates just like spewing it all up and then just going straight in. It was one of those under 16 gigs. And yeah, I loved it. I've been hooked since then really. Then yeah, I just sort of took any chance I could get to be closer to Grime and I think my camera was allowing me to do that. Again, just blogging my way into spots, squeezing myself into stages or backstage or whatever.

I think Brighton still has that gig and live music culture massively, so although like you're saying it's not known as a place for Grime, if you're into that it feels like a natural progression.

For sure, for sure. So even scenes that aren't specifically Brighton, they still exhibit in Brighton so it's still accessible. Which is cool. And obviously you have like The Great Escape and etc. Yeah it’s a creative and music heavy city.

So you’ve done a lot for Bikes Up, Knives Down. How did you get involved with them?

So I've been following BikeStormz and Mac for a minute, he's one of the founders of BikeStormz. I held off from reaching out to him because I think in my kind of work when you're not a part of communities, or you're not on the ground of social causes, I like to ask myself why I want to get involved. Do I want to get involved just because I could take a nice photo or just because it looks cool? My ethics, and my social consciousness aligns with the causes, but I don't think that's enough. So I said to myself, Okay, I could actually contribute in some small way with my camera and show the work in a particular light. Just help out in a very, very small way. And help promote the incredible work that they do. So yeah, I just reached out to him on social media. And he was like, yeah, cool, come through and that was it. Then yeah, it was amazing. I try to keep track of what they're doing, keep in touch and stuff.

I really appreciate what you're saying about what can I bring to them if I do want to get involved.

It's tough, I think, that sort of discourse. The dialogue I always have with myself is am I being voyeuristic? And it's obviously a very thin line with photography, because photography, by nature, is a form of voyeurism. So it's a sticky one. But I think it's important to always have that in your conscious thinking. But yeah, that's the reason why I approached them, because I thought I could bring something to the table. A small contribution. They put in the work 365 days a year, whereas, I hopped on for the days when they go out riding.

As soon as you started answering the questions, you mentioned communities and especially with the Knives down, Bikes up images there’s a big sense of community that comes through in your photography. Was that a conscious direction when you photographed them?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, like, I told you, I was aware of the work they do, and the positivity that they spread, but I hadn't really been around them. So I didn't know what it would be like in person. But as soon as I turned up it was love, similarly with Mac. Everyone was engaged and gassed to have their photograph taken. What was really apparent was the role models around all these kids, it was one of the first things I clocked and it's hard to miss. So I think it was a very easy decision to try and highlight that in the photos. So yeah, that's what I wanted to bring to the table, sort of shine a light on that really. It was really one of those jobs, you know, on days shooting where it just felt very organic. Because it was apparent to everyone that it was a special day.

So why do you enjoy working with young people?

I think young people just have a certain energy, and an outlook that's quite educational. I've actually got a project coming up that's on young musicians, young rappers, specifically. I think young people can be a great gateway for people who aren't familiar with a certain kind of scene, or certain communities, because we can all relate to being young. To quote your colleague Lisa, we’re all young people of the past. We can all relate to having young dreams, aspirations, and just being young in general. So I'm kind of trying to use or merge the previous work that I've done like Football Beyond Borders, BikeStormz, and music, all into one. Using young people and music as the focus to try and document their journeys and personalities. And the young people I photograph are just like, pretty fun and jokes to be around. It's been a really fun process. Maybe I'm just having an early midlife crisis. I don't know.

If you could put one object into the museum of youth culture, what would it be and why?

Do you remember those beanies that had a trim or peak? Those were fucking ugly. I don’t know why people had one, but I had one. It had the same beanie material, but it had like this tiny trim on the front of a normal beanie. Keep it locked away so it never returns, that'd be it.

You can follow more of Ben's work on instagram and website

@benbrooksbts