By Paul Wright | 24 January 2020, 11:51am

 

Self-taught photographer Andrew Moore grew up on Tyneside in the North East of England, in the early 1980s he moved to London to go to university. It was here where he first picked up a camera. The first real photographs Andrew took were in 1983 to support a housing rights organisation, campaigning for better living conditions in the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets. From that point onwards he began to document the unrest triggered by the social and economic changes that came with Thatcherism.

 

At the time Andrew told me there wasn’t a mainstream appetite within the UK for the kind of images he was making, he got a much warmer response internationally and began to work with news magazines in Europe and the US. “If I’m known for anything, it’s my work in Northern Ireland, although, again, the recognition for that came outside of the UK”.

 

“For a long time, I’ve lived and worked abroad, but with extended periods back on Tyneside during the last decade to care for my elderly parents”.

 

Andrew talks us through a selection of his images in the gallery below.

 

A Bangladeshi child sleeps in Fieldgate Mansions, Whitechapel. This is one of the first photographs that I made, It was 1983 and I was still finding my feet in London after moving from Tyneside. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Metropolitan Police riot training centre. Hounslow, mid 80s. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

The aftermath of the first night of the Handsworth riot of 85. I’d just arrived on the train from London, didn’t know my way around Birmingham and was spooked by the obvious nervousness of the police as night began to fall. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Later that night, people desperately try to get refuge from a police snatch squad in a billiard hall. This was my first experience of trying to make pictures in a place where nobody wanted photographers around. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

The next morning, local residents survey the damage. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

“A couple of weeks after the Handsworth riot, there was serious unrest in Brixton following the shooting of Cherry Groce during a police raid. Immediately after making this image of an arrest, my night was cut short after the police turned their attentions to me. The staff of Guy’s Hospital patched me up”. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

A week after the shooting of Cherry Groce, Cynthia Jarrett died during a police raid in Tottenham. In this image, police are swamping the local area as tension grows. London, 1985. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Police make an arrest that night on the Broadwater Farm Estate. By this point, there had been a second death with the killing of PC Keith Blakelock during rioting on the estate. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

The morning after the riot. Broadwater Farm Estate, 1985. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Tamil rights campaigners, London, 1985. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

A homeless man and his daughter in the infamous Mount Pleasant Hotel. London, 1986.  Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Young Tories in their Thatcherite pomp. Eastbourne, late 80s. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Police come under a hail of missiles at the beginning of the Poll Tax Riot. Trafalgar Square, 1990. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Protesters attack police. Poll Tax Riot, Trafalgar Square, 1990. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Police charge. Poll Tax Riot, Trafalgar Square, 1990. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Police attack protesters. Poll Tax Riot, Trafalagar Square, 1990. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

A protester lies unconscious as police run through Trafalgar Square. Poll Tax Riot, 1990. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Nurses protest against NHS cuts. London, late 80s. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

Police make an arrest during a protest against racism. Newham, 1985. Photo © Andrew Moore

 

All pictures copyright Andrew Moore.

 

You can see more of Andrew’s work on his Instagram page

 

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