Landmark exhibition by Tish Murtha and Kuba Ryniewicz ready to be unveiled at Baltic
The Close to Home exhibition of work by Tish Murtha and Kuba Ryniewicz to open at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
Opening on 4 July 2026 at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Close to Home is a landmark exhibition curated by Baltic that brings together four major series by celebrated documentary photographer Tish Murtha, alongside a newly commissioned body of work by Newcastle based artist Kuba Ryniewicz.
Born in South Shields in 1956, Murtha returned to Newcastle after university to document life in her community of Elswick. Her photographs capture the social impact of industrial decline with honesty, empathy and urgency, offering a powerful account of working-class life in the North East during the late twentieth century.
Developed in close collaboration with Murtha’s daughter, Ella Murtha, the exhibition honours Tish’s vision and the ongoing stewardship of her archive. Her work remains a vital record of lived experience and a compelling reminder of the inequalities that continue to shape communities today.
For the first time, Baltic presents works from four key series: Elswick Kids (1978), Elswick Revisited (1987–91), Save Scotswood Works (1979) and Youth Unemployment (1981). Elswick Kids captures the everyday lives of children growing up in Newcastle’s West End, revealing moments of freedom, friendship and play against a backdrop of economic hardship. A decade later, Elswick Revisted documents changes within the community, including increasing cultural diversity. Save Scotswood Works records the struggle of workers resisting the closure of a major industrial employer, while Youth Unemployment remains one of the most powerful portraits of young people growing up amid economic decline and political neglect.
Working closely with Modern Films, the exhibition will also feature the acclaimed documentary Tish, directed by Paul Sng and produced by Jen Corcoran. Narrated by Maxine Peake, the film offers an intimate portrait of Tish Murtha, celebrating her unyielding spirit, enduring legacy and belief in the transformative power of art. The documentary reflects the continued relevance of Murtha’s work and its powerful resonance today.
Working with Baltic on this exhibition feels very special. It’s a privilege to be able to keep me mam’s story alive, to share the love she had for the people and places she belonged to and celebrate that work here, in the place she called home.
Responding to Murtha’s legacy, Kuba Ryniewicz presents a newly commissioned body of work created for the exhibition, shown alongside selections from his earlier photographic archive and building on his ongoing exploration of portraiture and community.
Distinctive for his lightness of touch, Ryniewicz blends elements of fashion photography, regional histories and personal stories, foregrounded by intimacy and vivid characterisation. Working with local communities, the photographs explore joy, resilience and everyday life in the North East today, offering a contemporary perspective that sits in dialogue with Murtha’s documentary vision.
Created during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Daily Weeding (2020–2021) reflects life confined to home, gardens, and solitary walks. Small details—pigeons overhead, a dandelion pulled from soil—become vivid markers of daily life. Figures are often photographed alone, from someone among drying sheets to another crowned in gorse, capturing quiet moments of everyday existence. The work also builds on Ryniewicz’s ongoing series Cornered Study (2022–ongoing) and Good Eggs (2024–ongoing).
Cornered Study alternates between formal portraits and spontaneous moments, revealing tattoos, jewellery, and folds of skin, drawing on a queer lineage of portraiture established by Peter Hujar, Catherine Opie, Collier Schorr, and Paul Mpagi Sepuya. Good Eggs captures intimate domestic scenes—friends eating, laughing, and inhabiting everyday interiors—exploring care, connection, and chosen communities, while also reflecting how Ryniewicz brings together the visual language of his editorial work for fashion magazines with the sensibility of his personal photographic projects.
I am very excited and honoured to share my work, especially photographs of my community alongside such a legend, like Tish. Both voices give a different perspective on what it is to be living in Newcastle/Gateshead and showing the special people of the North.
Presented alongside Tish Murtha’s work, Ryniewicz’s photographs extend the exhibition’s exploration of everyday life, community and place in the North East. While Murtha documents working-class life in Newcastle during the late twentieth century, Ryniewicz offers a contemporary perspective shaped by lockdown and ongoing dynamics of friendship, intimacy and creative community. Together, the works reveal how ordinary moments—friendship, play, resilience and creativity—continue to shape the social fabric of the places we call home.
Bringing together two powerful photographic voices, Close to Home celebrates the enduring impact of Tish Murtha’s work while presenting Ryniewicz’s dynamic new response in the city and the region that shaped them both.
Image - Elswick Kids, Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha, all rights reserved
