Factor 15

Mathew Murray photographs are an amalgamations of his own life experiences. As a child his family holidays consisted of a one-week break every year to Pontins. More recently his holidays have encompassed visits to holiday resorts and theme parks on the East and West Coast of America, Brazil, Spain and the traditional English seaside: the places where people go to relax, have fun, seek thrills and bring themselves happiness and enjoyment in the sun. The photographs he takes in these locations seek to record some of the ways in which people choose to spend their leisure time. Seen individually, they reveal a sense of enjoyment articulated through his unique ability to capture humour simply, without being cynical or derogatory to the subjects. As Matthew says, the pictures show ‘that a little bit of sunshine makes people go a long way.’ But seen together, they begin to reveal a series of acute personal observations about similarities and differences stretching across a range of personal and cultural borders. This exhibition shows a selection of the images from this ongoing project which is partly funded by the Arts Council of England and supported by Birmingham Central Library’s Photography, Collections. Factor 15 is the Suntan Protection Factor required for adequate protection in most climates