David Severn

     David Severn is a 21 year old Nottingham based photographer who grew up in Mansfield. He dropped out of his A levels months in to pursue a career in photography as he was receiving commissions during his studies which was earning him money and therefore also didn't attend University. Severn has produced two major current projects, taken on a 6 x 7 Viewfinder camera that uses Kodak Portra 400 film.
     The first of the projects is called 'Thanks Maggie' which is a personal tribute to his father who worked in mines for his whole life and to his grandfather who was a mine deputy and the pictures tell a story of the re-invented ex-colliery sites in and around Mansfield where he grew up. It also aims to show the town in it's post-industrial recovery with everything from old and abandoned machinery to stories from old and retired miners. One photograph shows the story of his father now that the mines have closed and he took up a new profession of performing as an Elvis impersonator before retirement several months ago. Another image shows the old mining houses that are still inhabited but are down to be demolished although some residents are refusing to move out and continue with every day life. The most moving photograph is a portrait of an ex miner who, after finding out about Severn's project, stood up in the middle of a cafe and recited poetry about a miner before sitting down and telling him a story about A mine Rescue worker who was called in to the aid of 3 miners who were in a collapsed mine shaft and as he rescued the trapped miners, the deputy was crushed under the debris and suffered from broken ribs, collapsed lungs, a punctured spleen and was eventually taken to hospital after being resuscitated on site where later in hospital, he 'died' a further two times and was once again successfully resuscitated before the doctors found a brain haemorrhage. The chances of survival were very small and the ex-miner telling Severn about the story asked whether he would have wanted to die due to all of the injuries or whether he would have held on, and after he answered he told him that it was a good thing that he held on as he was sitting here today telling Severn the story.
     The second project was based around the Travelling Showman Community which documented the lives of the people behind the major travelling fayre in Nottingham. Severn got access to the trailers of the workers who spend their lives travelling and setting up the fayre to work on. He learned about how they live and the way that they choose to marry in to others in the same business. His series of photographs are still being decided before being entered in to an exhibition in Nottingham.