The RioTape Slide / Archive: Radical Community Photography in Hackney in the 80s.

(London): Isola Press, 2020. First edition. Small quarto. 255 pages. Forewords by Michael Rosen and Zawe Ashton. In the 1980s, Hackney was one of the most deprived parts of the UK, ignored by Margaret Thatcher’s new vision of Britain. But at Dalston’s Rio – London’s oldest community-owned cinema – the Tape/Slide Newsreel Group was giving unemployed local young people a voice. It taught photography and sound-recording skills, and championed an alternative perspective on Hackney life. In 2016, thousands of slides were found in a filing cabinet in the Rio’s basement, a legacy of this groundbreaking project. They document vibrant communities, street scenes, markets and social events. The best of the images are reproduced here. A near fine copy in wrappers with integral flaps.