Liverpool, 1990s: Photographs by Alex Hurst

Hurst became interested in photography at an early age. She completed a BTEC in Photography at Hugh Baird College before studying Art History at Liverpool John Moores University.

“I have always been very people-oriented, and I became interested in photography from a young age, so social documentary was a way of combining both interests,” she says.

“As a teenager, I spent my days wandering around the city and its surrounding areas, searching for people to photograph. Looking back, I realise that I must have looked mad, as from 1996 I was taking pictures while pushing my daughter around in her buggy.”

Her archive from the decade includes children and street scenes in Toxteth, visitors to New Brighton and photographs made in Liverpool city centre. Later work took her into shops and hair salons in Bootle, Crosby and Waterloo.

Some of Hurst’s earliest surviving documentary photographs were made in Toxteth in 1995. Children gather outside shops, pose together and play football in the street.

The photographs were made during a period when Hurst was spending much of her time walking around Liverpool with her camera. Although modest in scale, the series now provides a record of childhood and street life in the area during the middle of the decade

In 1996, Hurst photographed New Brighton on the Wirral. Once one of the region’s major seaside resorts, the town was still drawing families, day trippers and young people from across Merseyside.

The photographs look beyond New Brighton’s landmarks to the people using its seafront, amusement areas and public spaces. They form a distinct body of work within Hurst’s 1990s archive and can be viewed in the New Brighton 1996 gallery.

Nearly three decades later, the series featured in Dylan Cubbin’s short documentary Framing New Brighton, alongside photographs by Ken Grant and Tom Wood. The film was screened at Open Eye Gallery on 4th December 2025, followed by a discussion with Hurst, Cubbin and cinematographer Daniel Frost.

In 1998, Hurst photographed women’s hair salons across Merseyside. Among them were Pam’s Hairdressers on Coronation Road in Crosby and Broadway Hairdressers in Waterloo.

The differences between the salons were part of what interested her. Pam’s was a familiar meeting point where many of the customers knew one another. Broadway was a more austere establishment, run by an elderly proprietor who smoked while she worked.

Hurst’s photographs record the customers, staff and working interiors of businesses that served a practical purpose while also providing regular social contact.

“When I reflect on the photos I took during this period, I feel they have gained more significance,” Hurst says. “Many areas of Liverpool in the 1990s have changed.”

British Culture Archive began publishing and promoting Hurst’s 1990s archive in 2022.

The exposure led to four of her salon photographs being selected for Beehives, Bobs & Blowdries at The Piece Hall in Halifax. Curated by Donna Bevan and Andrew Barton, the exhibition ran from 17th September to 16th October 2022 and examined the history and cultural significance of British hairdressing. The exhibition is recorded in The Piece Hall’s 2022–23 Annual Review.

In 2025, the Museum of Liverpool discovered Hurst’s salon photographs through British Culture Archive. BCA arranged the licence and connected the museum’s curator with Hurst for the display Curly Blows, Cuts and Curlers.

Running from 3rd October 2025 to 12th April 2026, the display brought Hurst’s photographs together with work by Abdullah Badwi, Paul Trevor and The Caravan Gallery. Further information can be found in the Museum of Liverpool exhibition archive and the BCA licensing case study.

During the mid-1990s, while studying photography, Hurst began producing promotional work for Liverpool bands. Her photographs were subsequently published in music magazines, leading to commissions from record companies.

“In my late twenties, I felt like I should improve my technical skills, so I worked as a photographer’s assistant for many years while still doing my own work. I learned a hell of a lot when I assisted and got to work with some amazing photographers.

“The first person I ever assisted was Mick Rock on a shoot for the band Ladytron in 2005. My assisting days were invaluable to me, and it was a really happy and exciting time.”

Hurst went on to assist photographers including Dan Kenyon, Sebastian Kim, Tim Bret-Day and Just Loomis. Since 2008, she has worked primarily from her studio in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle.

In 2021, she expanded her practice into film and television, working in unit stills and art department photography. Her credits include Funny Woman, The Responder and Sexy Beast. Her move into this area is documented in a 2026 Liverpool Film Office profile.

Hurst continues to undertake commissioned work while developing and revisiting her documentary archive.