A person wearing a black beanie speaks into a microphone, surrounded by a group of people. In the background, a wall is covered in colourful graffiti.

Ewen Spencer's Open Mic series beautifully captures the UK hip-hop scene

Words: Anya Lawrence
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Date: 25 September 2012; Work
Photography

As you may know, Ewen Spencer is already well up there on our long list of incredible photographers – having wooed us with both his Waglad and Three’s a Crowd series several years back, there is no denying his talent.

His new retrospective exhibition England’s Dreaming showcases his photographic exploration of youth and street culture, and confirms Ewen’s place as one of the foremost chroniclers of the younger generation’s passions and preoccupations. It builds on projects like Open Mic, which stripped back the gimmicks to document the UK grime and hip-hop scene in a beautifully stark way (and recently went on show at the Econtras de Imagem festival in Portugal).

And it’s not just us singing Ewen’s praises, with the Open Mic book being written by The Streets’ Mike Skinner alongside photographer extraordinaire Martin Parr, Ewen Spencer is clearly a well-respected man.

England’s Dreaming opens at the Leeds White Cloth gallery on October 4.