BRUM: SUB #1 & #2

TITLE - BRUM: SUB #1 & #2

CREATED BY - JOSEPH ALLEN-KEYS

GENRE - STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 

A5/25 PAGES ON AVERAGE/FULL-COLOUR/PAMPHLETS

PRICE FOR EACH ISSUE - £1.50 + FREE SHIPPING FROM JAK PHOTOGRAPHIC ETSY STORE

"Brum: Sub" is a zine of colour photographs taken in Birmingham by Joseph Allen-Keys between 2019-2021, which show the city going through "a state of change", including during the pandemic. 

The title comes from an archaic slur against the residents of Birmingham, coined in the 1680s when Protestant supporters of the Exclusion Bill were referred to by their opponents Birminghams or Brummagems, the latter word alluding to counterfeiting or hypocrisy. As Joesph Allen-Keys states in the zine, the dated definition of the word is "cheap, showy or counterfeit - "a vile Brummagem substitute for the genuine article". From this, Keys derived "Brum: Sub", but there is nothing cheap or showy about his photographic skills.

Issue 1 begins cleverly with a shot of Birmingham railway station (New Street? I'm not sure) a nice metaphor for arriving in the city. The photos are mainly of people, most of whom do not look particularly ecstatic to be the subject of Keys' lens. These streets are very real, very English and very NOW. There are football shirts and flags, there are ruined houses and burnt-out cars and tower blocks framed by surveillance cameras. Often, a single frame can contain the whole gamut of emotions; one person can look happy while next to them someone's world is ending. But there is also humour, usually unintentional - a football fan proudly displays an England flag upside-down, and a lad shelters from the rain with his shirt over his head while on the facing page, a lady remembers her umbrella. This happens a few times throughout the zine: contrasting photos complement each other on a two-page spread. 

Issue 2 begins with some atmospheric night shots which are static but still manage to evoke that electric buzz associated with cities at night. These culminate in a shot of a Tim Horton's coffee shop, with a mountain of rubbish bags ready for the binman. People are once again the main focus, many of the subjects appearing aware of Keys' camera, but also wary of it; other subjects are lost in their own world. There is more evidence of decay in issue 2, with poignant photos of abandoned buildings and cars left to be reclaimed by nature in front gardens. Shots of protestors brandishing a sign proclaiming "This is now dystopia" suggest a more recent pandemic setting, and there are moving photos of people looking, for want of a better word, lost. 

The photography is excellent throughout both issues and each shot, loaded with meaning and emotion, invites repeated viewing. Joseph Allen-Keys has an eagle's eye for finding a single shot which can tell a powerful story and it's a visceral pleasure to walk the streets of Birmingham with him.