Eric Jaquier, now 61, came to Leeds in 1969 as a 23-year old and
spent a year here whilst his then-wife studied at the University.
Working as a door-to-door salesman for Betterware, he spent a month in
Burley, where he also pursued his love of photography, taking hundreds
of shots of street life in the Leeds suburb. In late 2007 Eric
contacted PSL, where the worth and interest of the archive was
immediately recognised by Co-directors Pippa Hale, Kerry Harker and
Diane Howse.
Eric’s images show a microcosm of British
working-class life in the late 60s –children playing makeshift games in
the streets; housewives hanging out white linen across the street; and
advertising signs hung above corner shops recalling a more innocent era
of consumerism.
Other aspects of 1960s Leeds life are also
here; smartly suited business men, formally attired in bowler hats with
umbrellas tucked under their arms, and people hanging out on the steps
of the Town Hall and in its doorways. There are even photographs of
mods on their scooters with polished chrome gleaming in the sunlight.
The
epic changes in the city centre landscape are also documented, as shots
taken from a high vantage point show the clearance of old industrial
buildings to make way for new concepts in modern architecture.
Returning
to Leeds in 2007 for the first time in 38 years, Eric has been able to
retrace his steps and re-photograph some of the original locations from
the 1969 photographs. Some streets and individual buildings remain, but
much has changed.
Click here to purchase prints by Eric Jaquier.
www.ericjaquier.ch
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Installation shot of photographs by Eric Jaquier
'Gino's Cafe' by Eric Jaquier 1969
'La Chaise' by Eric Jaquier 1969
'Bicycles' by Eric Jaquier 1969
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