Vandalism on a Grand Scale is a major new hardback publication dedicated to the work of Tish Murtha, one of the most important British documentary photographers of the late twentieth century.
Published by British Culture Archive, it is the first edition of a new publication presenting Murtha’s landmark Youth Unemployment series. It has been conceived afresh, with substantially improved tritone reproduction, a newly developed sequence and an entirely new case-bound design featuring an embossed cover and tipped-in photographic image.
Designed by Friederike Huber, the publication includes texts by Ella Murtha and Jen Corcoran. Ella Murtha also helped shape the presentation of the work. Taking its title from Murtha’s accompanying essay, the book brings one of the defining bodies of British documentary photography back into print in a publication that gives full weight to its photographic detail, historical significance and continuing relevance.
“Since the original book went out of print, I’ve been asked so many times if I’d ever make another. For a long time, I didn’t feel ready, but returning to the series now, with British Culture Archive, who believe so deeply in the work, has felt very special. I’m so proud of what we’ve created together for my mam.”
