Tish Murtha was a talented photographer with a unique ability to capture the essence of people's lives through her lens. She genuinely cared about the people she documented, as they were her family, friends, and neighbours. Her camera was the only way she could help them.
Today, her legacy lives on thanks to her daughter, Ella Murtha. Ella is determined to ensure that Tish's photos and message are not forgotten.
It would be wonderful if we could all have the opportunity to watch and share the documentary film "Tish" by filmmaker Paul Sng. The film is presented in a very compassionate and heartfelt manner, conveyed by Murtha's daughter, Ella, who resembles her late mother. Ella effectively communicates the film's emotional message by speaking to Tish Murtha's relatives, friends, and teachers at the School of Documentary Photography in Newport. Sng and Ella Murtha narrate the fascinating story of a talented photographer who captured the essence of the people she was a part of.
Tish Murtha, a photographer from Tyneside, documented the lives of people living in working-class communities in the north east during the 1970s and 1980s. She also captured the lives of Soho sex workers in London. Despite facing difficult circumstances, Murtha's subjects displayed humor, optimism, and a refusal to be intimidated. Her poignant photographs of children captured their resilience and determination. Her work earned her the nickname "Demon Snapper" in the papers. Murtha's photographs portrayed the harsh reality of poverty and deprivation in these communities, where unemployment was rampant due to the neglect of the political class in Westminster. She strongly disapproved of the way middle-class media people glorified poverty. This caused a rift between her and the Side Gallery in Newcastle, where her work was being showcased, due to their "poverty is beautiful, maaan" attitude. Unfortunately, Tish Murtha became a statistic herself and was marginalized and misunderstood by the arts establishment.
After the 2008 financial crisis, austerity policies were introduced, resulting in Tish Murtha's decline into poverty during her final years. She lived in constant fear of being sanctioned by the Department of Work and Pensions. Tish Murtha, along with her brothers and their friends, would roam the empty streets and abandoned houses of their hometown. It was during these wanderings that she discovered a camera and found her passion for photography. Having a camera also helped her to deter the child abusers and kerb crawlers who would follow them. She purchased a new camera from Dixons on hire purchase and, with the help of a grant, obtained a college placement. Her talent shone through her images, and her eloquent commentary added depth to her work. The Side Gallery provided support for her work, and London's Photographers' Gallery commissioned her to work on the Soho study.
Elswick Kids (1978) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Elswick Kids (1978) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Elswick Kids (1978) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Elswick Kids (1978) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Elswick Kids (1978) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Karen on overturned chair, 1980. From "Youth Unemployment" by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved
Youth Unemployment (1981) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Youth Unemployment (1981) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Youth Unemployment (1981) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Youth Unemployment (1981) by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
by Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, All rights reserved.
Patricia Anne (Tish) Murtha was born on March 14, 1956, in South Shields, North East England. She grew up in a council house in Elswick, Newcastle, as one of ten children of Irish descent.
In 1976, at the age of 20, she left home and went to study at The University of Wales, Newport, where she took a course in documentary photography at the School of Documentary Photography, which was established by David Hurn, a member of Magnum Photos.
After completing her studies in 1978, she went back to Newcastle and started documenting the lives of "marginalized communities from the inside." Unlike other photographers who photographed social poverty in the region at that time, Murtha grew up in it herself. She documented the lives of her friends, family, and community while working on a job program for the unemployed.
In 1979, Tish Murtha's controversial exhibitions titled Juvenile Jazz Bands and Youth Unemployment sparked debates in the House of Commons.
She was also commissioned to document the Save Scotswood Works campaign and provided photographs for THAC publications that highlighted social poverty in Tyneside.
In 1982, Murtha moved to London and worked on a group exhibition called London By Night, which documented Soho and the commercial sex industry. She lived in London for five years, working on commissions for Edward Arnold Publishers, and took photographs of emerging celebrities such as Julian Clary and Philip Herbert.
Declan Donnelly
Upon her return to the north-east in 1987, she took the first headshots of a young Declan Donnelly (25 September 1975), the British TV host, producer, former singer, rapper, comedian, and actor from Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Between 2008 and 2012, Murtha's work was selected for three Arts Council/British Council Collection exhibitions.
Her work was also included in group exhibitions such as True/Grit - A Celebration of Northern Realism (2013), For Ever Amber (2015), and Childhoods - 1977 to 2016 (2016).
In 2011, the group exhibition Paul Graham, Tish Murtha and Markéta Luskačová was a part of Look 11, the Liverpool International Photography Festival.
On March 13, 2013, Tish Murtha passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm, the day before her 57th birthday.
Her daughter Ella made sure that her mother's social work was preserved for future generations.
The Tish Murtha archive, which contains many never-before-seen pictures, was digitized by Paul Reas and Lulu Preece at the University of South Wales.
In November 2017, Ella published the book "Youth Unemployment" through Bluecoat Press, which was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign.
A documentary film about Tish Murtha's life, directed by Paul Sng and titled "Tish," premiered at Sheffield DocFest on June 14, 2023.
