A retrospective of work by one of the leading early colour photographers of the 20th century.
Peter Mitchell (b.1943, UK) is widely regarded as one of the most important early colour photographers of the 1970s and 80s. A powerful storyteller and social historian, Mitchell’s photography unfolds a longstanding and poetic connection with Leeds. He has chronicled the people and fortunes of the city with warmth and familiarity for over 40 years.
Described as ‘a narrator of who we were, a chaser of a disappearing world’ (Val Williams), Mitchell’s work reveals his love, and at times quirky, off-beat vision, of the people and changing face of Leeds.
The retrospective explores the breadth of Mitchell’s photographic practice. It brings together his famous series ‘A New Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission’, which imagines England as seen through the eyes of an alien from Mars, demolished flats, shopkeepers and their shops, and boarded-up and disused buildings, as well as his portraits of scarecrows. The exhibition marks a return to The Photographers’ Gallery for Mitchell – he first exhibited at the Gallery in 1984.
A chronicler of a changing city, he said of his work photographing the demise of the iconic Quarry Hills Estate in Leeds, ‘I know there was no point in keeping Quarry Hill flats. But what it stood for might have been worth keeping.’ Calling himself ‘a man of the pavement’, Mitchell continues to regularly walk the streets of Leeds to photograph his beloved hometown today.
Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever will include rarely seen works from Mitchell’s own collection, personal ephemera and found objects.
Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever is realised in collaboration with Leeds Art Gallery. Nothing Lasts Forever, published by RRB Photobooks, is available now.
Peter Mitchell: Nothing Last Forever: 7 March – 15 June 2025
The Photographers’ Gallery 16-18 Ramillies Street, London, W1F 7LW
Mon – Weds 10am – 6pm, Thurs & Fri 10am – 8pm (Friday free from 5pm
Sat 10am – 6pm Sun 11am- 6pm
£10 / £7 concessions (members go free); Advance online booking: £8.50 / £6 concessions.
Ticket covers entry to all exhibitions on the day of your visit.
Further information: Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever | The Photographers Gallery