Incredible 1960s photo capture the last days of the slums
These are the haunting photos of the last days of Manchester’s slum-land. Captured by photographer, Shirley Baker, the images were recently featured at a major exhibition at Photographers’ Gallery in London.
Baker’s photos capture the British street scene between the 1960s and 1980s, a time of major social change in urban areas like Manchester and Salford. Baker was interested in photographing ordinary streets scenes with everyday people, providing valuable insight into the incredible transformation that occurred in the sixties. In this series of photos, Baker captures the last days before slums were finally demolished, where youngsters played on the streets, improvising with what was around to to amuse themselves.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2012, Baker said: “There was so much destruction: a street would be half pulled down and the remnants set on fire while people were still living in the area. As soon as any houses were cleared, children would move in and break all the windows, starting the demolition process themselves. There was no health and safety in those days; they could do as they liked. I never posed my pictures. I shot scenes as I found them.”
Baker passed way in 2014 aged 82 after a short illness.
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