Toby Binder was born in 1977 in Esslingen, Germany and studied at the Stuttgart Academy of Art and Design. His photography predominantly focuses on social, environmental, and political topics. Based in Argentina and Germany, Toby concentrates on working-class life by developing long-form documentary projects. He is mostly interested in post-war and crisis situations, as well as in the daily lives of people.
Photo © Toby Binder.
Belfast
Toby has been documenting working-class life in Britain for over a decade, with a heavy focus on youth culture. In March 2019, he released an incredible body of work titled “Wee Muckers – Youth of Belfast”, published by Kehrer. The images from the series were photographed in six different areas of Belfast, focusing on teenagers in six different Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods. The images provide an intimate insight into the daily lives of an entire generation in the city.
Photo © Toby Binder.
Football Culture
A large body of Toby’s work focuses heavily on street football culture in Scotland – with young people playing ‘fitba’ on pitches, backyards and in the street in every corner of the country.
Toby “For me, there is no other nation in Europe suffering a larger gap between passion created expectations on the one hand, and success – or, better, failure – on the other. I really keep my fingers crossed that the Bravehearts will finally qualify again for the 2022 World Cup!”
Photo © Toby Binder.
Passion
When I first came to Scotland in 1996, I was fascinated by the Scots’ enthusiasm for football and its importance in the community despite the country’s lack of success at the international level. I love this street football mentality and believe it belongs much more to this sport than any youth academies of big clubs. It represents the essence of sport and teaches important life lessons; one doesn’t have to be successful to love something or feel passion for it.
Photo © Toby Binder.
Toby’s photographs capture something special, you can see that he has a true connection to his subject which comes through in each photograph. The images in his ever expanding archive will be come an important documentation of football and street culture in the UK. Here at BCA we look forward to seeing more of Toby’s work.
His work has been awarded internationally, e.g. with a Gomma Grant, by LensCulture and Life Framer in 2020, the Felix-Schoeller-Award in 2019, Philip-Jones-Griffiths-Award in 2018, the Sony-World-Photo-Awards in 2019 and 2017 and the Nannen-Preis in 2017. The same year he received an Honorable Mention by UNICEF Photo of the Year.
Gallery
Photo © Toby Binder.
Photo © Toby Binder.
Photo © Toby Binder.
Photo © Toby Binder.
Photo © Toby Binder.
All images © Toby Binder, all rights reserved. No usage or reproduction of any kind without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Share
Tweet
Email
- Article first published
- May 25, 2022
READ NEXT
SUPPORT BCA
British Culture Archive is an independent archive and cultural resource that was set up through a genuine passion for photography. Since 2017, we have supported British photography by publishing and exhibiting works from photographers and by unearthing and giving a global platform to previously unseen photography.
Our online galleries and exhibitions will always be free for everyone. Public support and funding is vital for us to continue documenting and preserving important photography. If you appreciate the work we do, please consider making a donation through the link provided below.