Marc Davenant: Outsiders at Williamson Art Gallery

Katie Evans, Exhibitions Editor

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Marc Davenant: Outsiders

18 October-23 December 2023

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Marc Davenant: Outsiders
Greg and Roxy, Glasgow. By Marc Davenant
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Birkenhead’s Williamson Art Gallery presents Marc Davenant: Outsiders, a striking photography project that foregrounds the voices of people experiencing homelessness.

The exhibition is the culmination of a six-year project, through which photographer Marc Davenant has captured an intimate snapshot of the homelessness crisis in modern Britain, confronting its viewers with the systematic failure of vulnerable people.

Davenant’s black and white images capture binaries largely ignored in public discussions of homelessness – exhaustion and resilience, exposure and privacy, the internal and external – to illustrate the multifaceted complexities of the crisis, and the people suffering from it. 

In partnership with the charity Shelter and supported by Arts Council England, the project combines participants’ personal stories with environmental portraiture from across the country, gathering narratives from London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Brighton, Kent, Hertfordshire and Norwich.

Davenant is a documentary photographer and a two-time winner of the Portrait of Britain competition. His images spark equal parts compassion and range in their viewers.

After its showing at Williamson, Marc Davenant: Outsiders will tour to The Hub at St Mary’s, Lichfield, Newcastle City Library, Derby Cathedral, The Courtyard Hereford, Blackpool Central Library, Cromer Artspace, and Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow.

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