Spencer Murphy photographs the dirt bike riders of London 

Date
1 August 2016

Photographer Spencer Murphy is continually interested in people who exist on the fringes of law and society – previously he’s captured Runnymede’s off-grid community and an abandoned park in Orlando as well as numerous portraits of interesting people. In his latest project, Spencer has documented the gangs of riders and quad bikers that congregate around London on the weekends and do stunts on roads and industrial estates.

“I initially found out about the subculture when a friend told me to watch the documentary 12 O’Clock Boys, which is a brilliant film about the genesis of this culture in Baltimore and one young boy’s quest to become a member of the biker gang. It was so visually rich, with huge groups riding around the streets of Baltimore on dirt bikes and quads more usually seen off-road, and they were wearing street fashion without any helmets or protection,” explains the photographer. “I wasn’t aware the culture had made its way over here until some years later when I saw a small group ride past me doing stunts. I started to realise how big it had become here and how it had taken on a life and expression of its own.” 

Getting access to the riders in London proved difficult for Spencer at first with several failed attempts at meeting up with them. “I think generally riders are apprehensive of getting attention as a lot of them have had problems with the police. Even if the picture isn’t incriminating, no one wants the number plate to be shown,” he says. “I was close to giving up, when I made contact with one particular rider, who invited me along to one of their ride outs. Once I got to know a few other riders, it opened up other locations and more people became relaxed wth me taking their photographs.” 

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Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

Spencer was introduced to a strip in north London on an industrial estate where many of the local riders met up on weekends and it was there he approached people to take their portraits. “It’s funny to think back to how I first felt walking into that environment. It’s a pretty scary atmosphere when viewed from the outside, whereas now generally everyone is really friendly and there’s a real community feel to the strips.”

From wheelies to hoodies, Spencer captures his subjects individually but also the camaraderie between them with a real sense of truth and character. “Looking in from the outside it’s a scary culture, with large groups of young men in masks on loud bikes. But once I was on the inside it reminded me of when I used to skateboard in my teens and 20s. It’s a really similar lifestyle and it’s very social. The main difference is it’s more dangerous and illegal,” says the photographer.

“I’ve learned a lot about the community of riders but I don’t think I want to heap the images with much more meaning than is present within them.”

Spencer Murphy

Spencer approached the project like any other by focusing on the members of the group and isolating them from what they do. “There’s something of the Wild West outlaw about the characters I met and I wanted to explore that and play to those themes – just replacing the horses with dirt bikes and the denim with an Adidas tracksuit,” he says. “I’ve been interested for a long time now in using the various elements to tell a story as a filmmaker would. So using still life, portrait and landscapes to paint a picture and then trying to edit that in a poetic way. There are a lot of elements to this story and I’d say it’s a work in progress as I’m still going back and trying to fill the gaps now.” 

There’s a lightness to the series, where the gang’s initial harshness is undercut by a soft, mauve tint. Yet there’s still a contrast conveyed between the “bold colours of the bikes, outfits and masks with the bleak background of the industrial estates.” For this project Spencer enjoyed the challenges of being out of the studio and shooting in a less controlled environment. “Rather than a van-load of equipment at my disposal, it’s stripped back to the necessity of camera and tripod. The portraits can be very fleeting and I can often sense they’re going to ride away after one frame, so I know I have to make it count,” he says. 

With the series Spencer simply wants to show the viewer this subculture exists. “I’ve learned a lot about the community of riders through doing the project but I don’t think I want to heap the images with much more meaning than is present within them,” he says. “What I like and what drew me to the project the most was that the riders look like outlaws, so I’m not trying too hard to dispel that because that’s what makes them interesting.”

Above

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

Above

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

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Left

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

Above

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

Above

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

Above

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

Above

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

Above

Spencer Murphy: One Wheel Bad

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About the Author

Rebecca Fulleylove

Rebecca Fulleylove is a freelance writer and editor specialising in art, design and culture. She is also senior writer at Creative Review, having previously worked at Elephant, Google Arts & Culture, and It’s Nice That.

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