HULL – Alec Gill is one of Hull’s most important documentary photographers, and his latest exhibition at Ron Dearing UTC’s STEAM Studios is a reminder of just how vital his work has been in preserving the history of a community that might otherwise have faded from view.
Born in Hull in 1946, Gill trained as a psychologist, and that background shaped how he approached photography. When he turned his attention to the fishing community of Hessle Road in the early 1970s, he didn’t arrive as an outsider chasing stories — he committed to years of patient, respectful observation. Between 1971 and 1988, he took more than 6,000 black-and-white photographs using a Rolleicord twin-lens reflex camera. His subjects were the people of Hessle Road: trawlermen, their families, children, shopkeepers, neighbours. The result is one of the most extensive and emotionally honest records of working-class life in post-war Britain.
The exhibition, titled The Hessle Roaders, brings together around 30 of Gill’s images. There’s no gloss, no posturing, and no attempt to make his subjects look more palatable to outsiders. These are straight, powerful photographs. Children balance on crates as they pretend to fish from the pavement. Women sit quietly in their front rooms. Trawlermen brace themselves against the cold, waiting for the next voyage. Every photo captures something real — not just about the people in the frame, but about a way of life that was already beginning to slip away at the time the pictures were taken.
Gill’s work is not nostalgic. It’s observant, grounded, and sharp. He understood that the strength of the community came not from grand gestures, but from the small details — the quiet endurance, the humour, the friendships, and the daily routines that held everything together. His photographs give space to all of that. They don’t just show the decline of the fishing industry; they show how people lived through it.
The exhibition runs from 19 May to 12 June 2025 and is open Monday to Thursday, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Entry is free, but booking is required. The venue is STEAM Studios at Ron Dearing UTC, on John Street in Hull.
Alec Gill didn’t treat Hessle Road as a subject — he treated it as a relationship. That care and commitment are visible in every frame. This exhibition is not just for photography enthusiasts or those with a personal connection to the area. It’s for anyone who wants to understand what it means to document a community with truth and respect, and why that still matters.
Event details: www.visithull.org/whatson/alec-gill-the-hessle-roaders-exhibition/
Alec Gill website: alecgillhessleroadphotoarchivebook.com/