{"title":"Syd Shelton","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"rock-against-racism-2","title":"Rock Against Racism","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn outstanding photography book documenting a movement that rocked the world, \u003cem\u003eSyd Shelton: Rock Against Racism\u003c\/em\u003e is a body of photographs that \u003cstrong\u003eSyd Shelton\u003c\/strong\u003e produced for and about the British Rock Against Racism movement (RAR) of 1976-1981.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor Shelton, this work was a socialist act, what he calls a \"\u003cem\u003egraphic argument\u003c\/em\u003e,\" on behalf of marginalized lives. His practice of photographic activism began in 1973 when he was driven to document the socio-cultural and political dynamics expressed on the streets of Sydney by urban Australian Aboriginal communities, the working class, and the architectural landscapes of these groups.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShelton's first solo show in 1975, \"\u003cem\u003eWorking Class Heroes\u003c\/em\u003e,\" at the Sydney Film-makers Cooperative, established his distinct activist eye. Shelton joined RAR in early 1977 on his return to England from Australia. He did so because he found his birthplace a more racist country than it had been when he left.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis was marked by the increased political presence of the National Front, notably its gain of some 119,000 votes in the Greater London Council Elections of May 1977. Shelton, like millions of others, feared for the future of multi-cultural Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis contribution to RAR was to be on the London committee, to create graphic material with other RAR members such as the RAR publication \"\u003cem\u003eTemporary Hoarding\u003c\/em\u003e,\" posters' badges, and his photography-RAR did not have an official photographer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShelton's instinctive need to document RAR-its events, contributors, and supporters-has resulted in the largest collection of images on the movement. Alongside his documentation of RAR, Shelton took photographs of what he calls \"the contextual images,\" the lives and landscapes that were defined by others as \"different,\" and that often fueled racist acts of violence by simply being.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is presented here are Shelton's authoritative visual statements as participant-photographer on the social tempo in Britain at this time and the activist potency of RAR. As collective activism, RAR's success was dependent on individual contributions to fuel the movement's activities across the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis unique national, and eventually international, charge incorporated the visual dynamic of how Black and white RAR contributors and participants styled their bodies as another antagonistic tool against racism. These were acts of style activism-the making of an activist identity through the considered composition of clothes, accessories, hairstyles, makeup, and body language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShelton's images prompt us to remember that the individuals at RAR carnivals, gigs, and demonstrations were the event-they were RAR. There are many versions of what RAR was and its legacy. \u003cem\u003eSyd Shelton: Rock Against Racism\u003c\/em\u003e provides an auto\/biographical telling of that historical moment. It reflects on how Shelton's work as a photographer contributed towards social change at a critical moment of political and racial tension in Britain.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"Hardback | Signed Copy","offer_id":50441583624523,"sku":"2006825","price":42.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Rock_against_racism_265b2862_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1726982873"},{"product_id":"rock-against-racism-live-1977-1981","title":"Rock Against Racism Live. 19771981","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRough Trade Books Of The Year:\u003c\/strong\u003e #17\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBetween 1976 and 1981, \u003cstrong\u003eRock Against Racism\u003c\/strong\u003e and the youth of Britain unleashed the explosive rebel chemistry of Punk and Reggae bands in a five-year festival of multiculturalism. Under the slogan ‘Love Music, Hate Racism’, Rock Against Racism took on the orthodoxy through 5 Carnivals and over 500 gigs throughout the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn those five years, the National Front went from a serious electoral threat into political oblivion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSyd Shelton 2022\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cafe Royal Books","offers":[{"title":"Pamphlet - 1169879","offer_id":50465856029003,"sku":"1169879","price":6.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Pamphlet","offer_id":50465856160075,"sku":"1161063","price":6.7,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/rock_against_racism_-_syd_shelton_top_8262aa18_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727297564"},{"product_id":"crowds-1977-1981-js","title":"Crowds 1977–1981","description":"\u003cp\u003e36 pages, printed in England. Staple bound, 14cm x 20cm.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cafe Royal Books","offers":[{"title":"Pamphlet","offer_id":51530554900811,"sku":"R5602-8454","price":6.7,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Syd_Shelton_Crowds_101019_web1200.jpg?v=1743015725"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/syd-shelton.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}