Keep Mum is a collection of work by seminal music photographer & artisan Steve Gullick, it comes hot on the tail of his highly successful Punk As Fuck & Emergence exhibition’s which showed in London & Istanbul respectively. Unlike the aforementioned shows which were concentrated on Gullick’s 1990’s output, Keep Mum is focused exclusively on the first six years of this century, the work covers his transition from mainstream music press regular for NME & Mojo through the conception & execution of the cult music titles Careless Talk Costs Lives & Loose Lips Sink Ships.

So here’s a wee heads up about an up and coming exhibition that I am genuinely quite excited about! Call it what you want, Grunge, Punk, alternative-indie; a certain early nineties sound blew away the cobwebs of the tired titans of rock. With this the images went hand in hand; defining and communicating the immediacy and freshness of the music and the attitude.  Album covers, and magazines  were awash with bleached out colours and grainy, wide, and up close captures of the scene.

No one did it quite like Steve Gullick though! His ‘Punk As Fuck’ exhibition in London earlier this year was a testament to this short-lived and finite period. In the surroundings of Indo a London boozer, that on visiting seemed to have been caught in this time bubble,  the images on the wall vied with the sounds of the Pixies and friends playing the nights out, amid banter at the bar. These powerful images brought it all back; the raw and captivating black and white printing and execution, making the collection stand out.

Steve Gullick made his name as one of the great music photographers during this period, capturing the energy and essence of bands, getting up close and getting along with bands, basically not getting in the way and not being a ‘Press Photographer’, preferring a natural DIY resonance with the self propelling and experimental happenings of the moment.

“No press photos. No ringtone adverts. No full-stand displays in WH Smiths. No consideration for content beyond that we were listening to, and moved by at the time.” Everett True – Co founder of Careless Talk Costs Lives

It’s been a busy year for Steve Gullick, with shows in Istanbul, and now with this show ‘Keep Mum’ opening on the 28^th June in Glasgow. This exhibition is presented by STATIC Collective, a new gallery initiative across Glasgow and Edinburgh. Using vacant high-street units to showcase rare & iconic music photography and music documentaries, having recently kicked off with exhibition and book launch of iconic Stone Roses Photographer, Ian Tilton. Tickets are available for the opening night here. They are free until they’re gone  .. Yep you heard me .. and the evening will feature records played by Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite along with a chat about the work by Steve Gullick and music journalist Stevie Chick.

Concentrating on the first six years of this century the exhibition will be a chance to see a much wider scope of artists that made their way in font of Steve Gullick’s revealing lens. A cross pollination and discerning taste of artists will be featured in this refreshing show from  the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, to Mogwai, Mark E smith, to TV on the Radio and The Gossip to name but a few….

Punk As Fuck
Keep Mum
Gullick Photo

By Tom Manley on June 25, 2013