I managed to see Chris Coekin's latest work The Hitcher a few years back, at the Photographer Gallery and found his work very interesting. For the series he did three types of photography styles; snap shots of him waiting for people to pull over and help him out; still life images of items found on the side of the road and lastly portraits of the people that were nice enough to give Coekin a lift to where ever the driver could take him. I personally liked the portraits a lot more than the rest of the exhibition work; this is not saying the other styles are not interesting at all. Seeing what people have thrown on the road and the road kill is a great still life documentation of what’s on the roads of Britain but I have always been interested in portrait and documentary work a lot more.What I really like is how all the portraits show the driver with their vehicle. This is what helps the viewer understand more about the person who was so helpful and understanding to this hitcher. If they were just standing in a field or by a building you would not get a full understanding of who they are. If they were in a field they could be anyone but with their motor next to them you learn a lot more about them.
If you ever get chance to go and see Chris Coekins work in a gallery I advise you to go and enjoy how Chris creates a good narrative of his journey across Britain.
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