Photographs taken by Tish Murtha in the late 1970s offer a vivid portrayal of life in Elswick, a deprived neighborhood in Newcastle. One notable image from April 1978 shows a young girl, dressed neatly but playing amidst a backdrop of dilapidated buildings, scattered rubbish, and a battered car. The scene highlights the stark realities of deprivation that characterized the area during that period, a situation that worsened following Margaret Thatcher’s rise to prime minister in 1979.

Unlike many photographers who document poverty from an outsider’s perspective, Murtha had direct experience of the environment she captured. Born in South Shields as the third of ten children, she grew up on Kenilworth Road in Elswick. Her childhood involved playing in the same run-down streets and abandoned spaces she later photographed. After earning a photography degree in south Wales in 1978, Murtha returned to her community with the intention of portraying its stories authentically, resisting what she saw as middle-class exploitation of poverty for spectacle.

Murtha’s work gained recognition during her lifetime, notably when a member of Parliament displayed her series on youth unemployment in the House of Commons. Yet broader appreciation of her photographs largely developed posthumously, following her death in 2013. A new joint exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead further showcases the depth of her work, which captures not only hardship but also moments of humor, resilience, and defiant spirit—often revealed through the expressions and postures of children.

Additional details in Murtha’s images enrich their historical context. For example, graffiti referencing Malcolm MacDonald, a former Newcastle United footballer, appears in the background of some shots. Murtha’s daughter, Ella—who now manages her mother’s archive—explains that the imagery resonates with contemporary figures such as musician Sam Fender. Fender selected one of Murtha’s photographs for the cover of his and Olivia Dean’s single "Rein Me In" and described the photos as closely aligning with his father’s memories of growing up in Newcastle during the 1970s and 1980s.

Through her intimate, insider perspective, Tish Murtha’s photography remains a powerful testament to life in Elswick during a time marked by social and economic challenges, preserving an important visual record of community strength amid adversity.