"I started thinking about making a project about Gateshead Town Centre ever since I moved to my new studio at The NewBridge Project, Gateshead. I felt refreshed by my new surroundings and the various people passing through the High Street where I’m now located. Gateshead High Street somehow feels like what Newcastle used to be. I still feel nostalgic about Newcastle’s past, and the ongoing demolitions and soulless developments that keep popping up throughout the city centre.Although Gateshead’s High Street still holds that sense of history, time and place – the new development of Trinity Square is shaping up to mimic that of its neighbouring city, with much of the land now privatised and controlled by private security. I’ve always felt Gateshead, despite being situated on the other side of the river Tyne, is far less well known to those not living locally or having originated from the region. From what I gather the town is very rarely represented within photography, with artists and photographers choosing Newcastle as a more desirable location. This presentation is a direct response to the development of Trinity Square, and the large corporate companies like Tesco who are swallowing up land from local councils. Using the location as a backdrop and challenging the use of public space, the focus has always been to present the young generation of people who work, live or even just pass through this now privatised land. It’s important to me that these people are the central focus to the work, and they are portrayed in the most honest way possible, their untold stories are what defy Gateshead and what these series of photographs have come to represent. The artist would like to thanks all the participants for their energy and positivity." Kuba Ryniewicz Participants: Abigail, Adam, Andres, Catlin, Daniel, Elliot, James, Jamie, Jamie W, Joey, John, Lauren, Leigh, Lucy, Luke, Madeleine, Melody, Paige, Pawel, Perazim, Petar, Rebekah, Ryan, William, Yasser
