Pierdom. Photographs of Britain’s piers by Simon Roberts

About

For the past two centuries the piers of Britain have traced our relationship with the seaside and our economic and social history. Boom and bust are embodied in Brighton & Hove’s own contrasting piers. In 1900 over a hundred piers fringed the British coastline, but less than half of these still stand. All have interesting stories to tell.

Internationally renowned photographer Simon Roberts, who lives in Brighton, has completed a three-year quest to document all of Britain’s remaining pleasure piers in a comprehensive photographic survey. Made with a large format 4 x 5” field camera, Simon’s striking tableaux photographs celebrate the personality, architecture and history of each structure. They also examine the connections between the landscapes and the communities who live and play against the backdrop of these pleasure piers.

Alongside Simon Roberts’ lyrical images, this exhibition presents film material exploring the photographer’s working process and the history of the Brighton piers, together with items from the museum’s local history archive and personal stories of seaside memories. The public will also be encouraged to leave their own ‘pier story’.