Juvenes: The Joy Division Photographs Of Kevin Cummins
by Kevin Cummins

Generosity exhibition

The most sumptuous addition to the Joy Division industry, this beautifully bound collection is a genuine collector’s piece. Kevin Cummins’ JD photographs – old friends forever preserved in youth – still prove far more evocative than the overrated Control’s overt austerity.

This collection, built from Sounds and NME commissions, proves an intriguing clash of talent and circumstance. Indeed, the dark brown walls of TJ Davidson’s rehearsal complex, framing Ian Curtis’ infamous angst, were wholly coincidental, although Cummins’ talent for portraiture always did tease emotion from the most placid expressions. Equally, the Stockport and Hulme snow will forever enhance this extraordinary band’s exotic bleakness.

Cummins largely avoids using words from obvious and ageing Manc journos, punctuating each section with essays from unlikely sources. Ex-footballer Pat Nevin recalls sleeping rough at Piccadilly Station after visiting The Haçienda and Ian Rankin admits to stalwart JD fandom, but the heart and soul belongs to these timeless photos.

The collection expands beyond the band to feature, somewhat hilariously, the sparse crowd at the Leigh Festival and a fabulously ramshackle Factory Club in Hulme, both seemingly depicting life in some lost and distant universe. It’s only available direct from the publisher at www.tohellwithpublishing.com, and the £500-priced initial run of 26 has sold out.

5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars

tbc

Reviewed by Mick Middles
<< Back to Issue 348

Login Here

Free Newsletter


Subscribe to
our email newsletter by emailing:

anna.bowen@
metropolis.co.uk