Behind the Scenes

Daniel Meadows, photographer and digital storyteller, is a pioneer of British documentary making. His photographs and audio recordings, made over almost fifty years, capture uniquely the felt life of the everyday in England.Fiercely independent from the outset, Meadows contrived his own ways of working: running a free portrait studio in Moss Side (1972), then travelling 10,000 miles in his converted double-decker the Free Photographic Omnibus (1973-74) to make a national portrait, a project he returned to a quarter-of-a-century later. As an early adopter of digital tools he was among the first to combine audio with photographs to make digital stories. Repeatedly he has returned to those he has photographed, listening for how things are and how they've changed.Meadows' documentary work, which paved the way for many of those now working in participatory media, has been widely exhibited both at home and abroad. Solo shows include the ICA London (1975), Camerawork (1978), the Photographers' Gallery (1987) and a touring retrospective from the National Media Museum (2011). Group shows include Tate Britain (2007) and Hayward Gallery Touring (2008).