An exhibition by poet Ian McMillan and photographer Andrew Brooks.
They explore the streets where they live in the early morning to capture some of the strangeness and beauty of the everyday world
Poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan and photographer Andrew Brooks took up a year-long creative correspondence, inspired by the daily whimsical tweets made by Ian on his early morning strolls.
The pair discovered a shared fascination with giving voice to imagined hidden narratives on their doorsteps; respectively using words and pictures to bring fantastical storytelling to the everyday mundanity of their pre-dawn neighbourhoods, capturing the beauty and strangeness of the places where we live.
The result, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, is a series of 25 magical pieces, each the symbiosis of Andrew’s image and Ian’s lyrical response.
A phone box, a deflated red whoopee cushion and a circular security light against a brick wall transcend their tethered realities as Ian’s ultra-short form narrative gives life to stories that were never told. The phone box receives a call from a mystery singer, the red rubber toy is a fallen planet, and the light, a moon against a brick sky. Without each other, they are less than the sum of their parts, Ian’s sparsely beautiful language bringing surprising new answers to Andrew’s open visual questions.
Their process was one of collaboration at a distance, Brooks working from the Peak District town of New Mills and McMillan, known as the bard of Barnsley, from his South Yorkshire hometown.
Inspired by the popular and poetic early morning tweets made by McMillan on his daily stroll, which he began during the first Covid lockdown, Brooks set out to make his own series of pre-dawn walks. Leaving his home at 5am each day with his camera, the photographer took hundreds of pictures within two miles of his front door.
After each walk, Brooks then shared his pictures with McMillan, who responded to the images of his choice, building narrative into each with an unexpected micro story.
A true call and response venture, McMillan’s words began to shape the images Brooks created, the pair working together in an unbroken feedback loop.
Exhibition is open every Mon-Sat until 27 September 2025
Book The Songs The Morning Sang at The Portico Library
