Dougie Wallace What Do Artists Do All Day?

HUM OF TRAFFIC IN BACKGROUND

You don't take your best pictures in the studio.

You do them in the streets.

The rest is bullshit.

And you know it.

MUSIC: Be My Baby by The Ronettes

# The night we met I knew I needed you so

# And if I had the chance I'd never let you go

# So won't you say you love me?

# I'll make you so proud of me

# We'll make them turn their heads every place we go

# So won't you please... #

Welcome to Harrodsburg, home of the 1%.

Playground of the super-rich.

Wicked! Whoa!

I'm telling you, you wouldnae believe the things you see around here.

Whoa!

Yeah, take my picture. Go. There you go.

Wow! You're beautiful.

I love you!

'Aye, so I come from Glasgow.

'I joined the Army straight out of school.

'When I left, I bought and sold cars for a bit

'then I got into photography seriously about ten years ago.

'I bought my first camera in Nepal when I was backpacking.

'I took a lot of travel pictures and probably thought I was a bit of a

'Martin Parr at the time.

'When I started taking pictures in Knightsbridge,

'I was doing people on the buses.

'I'd read about how the average life expectancy in Kensington and Chelsea

'was 87 for women and 84 for men.

'But in The Calton, in Glasgow, it's 54 for men.

'So I took the pictures of people on the buses in both places,

'catching them at traffic lights, shooting through the window.

'But Knightsbridge, it's like another world.

'The people round here, the money, it's unreal.

'There's sort of like a lot of human theatre and drama on the streets.

'So I just came back shooting and shooting and shooting.'

Look at her. Look, she's nice, isn't she?

Do you like her?

Beautiful!

Aye, you look gorgeous.

Probably that one.

It's the recoil.

MAN CONVERSES ON PHONE

BLEEP

So basically, you come to a bit like this.

You always have the same aperture on, F-11,

and a shutter speed controls the background.

See, the aperture controls the amount of flash hitting the subject,

so it's all set at manual, it's all set at 80 centimetres

just under a metre and, actually,

I can't see here because of the flash gun,

so I actually just Tippex the markings on here

and then that's a metre, that's two metres, that's 50 centimetres.

You know what your shutter speed is,

you know what the lighting's like.

You keep going. And then something might happen

and it's just out of the corner of your eye

and that's when you get the good picture.

Oh! We like this. Look, whaay!

Oh, we like all the bags and look at all that, eh?

Phwoaa!

That's the sparkle.

This is how these things work, because it's your preconceptions.

She could be...she could be a billionaire.

The thing about the money is, it's all out there.

It's all on display.

It's part of the whole show, you know.

So I'm just capturing that, really.

The area is changing, you know.

The Sloanes, and the old money.

They're all dying out and the new breed's coming in.

They've got even more money.

It's all crazy.

Wow! I say, guys.

Yeah, they're always here.

Wow! Wow!

Watch my toes!

They're a bit too smiley, although I don't mind the smiley one.

That's quite nice.

Excuse me. I'm taking pictures here. You need to move.

So, these photos. They're going to be in a book,

it's going to be called Harrodsburg.

That's my title for it, Harrodsburg.

The Sunday Times ran something and they got Peter York to write about it.

He's good, Peter. He knows more than most people

about what's going on in Knightsbridge,

so I asked him if he'd write something for my book.

On the top of that block, famously,

the most expensive flat in the world.

-One Hyde Park?

-One Hyde Park, yeah.

Do you know that when you look,

there's something like only six in the whole of all those flats that

pay council tax.

-They're all third homes, tenth homes.

-Yeah, yeah.

If you're here at night, there aren't a lot of lights on.

Yeah. Lights out, London.

Lights out, London, yes.

The overwhelming...

..feeling about...

..what young Dougie here calls Harrodsburg

is a certain kind of holiday shopping

by people who seem to have absolutely limitless resources

and have a very different style from the old Knightsbridge people

and you can see that style.

It's both nonchalant modest, yet fantastically bling.

I just want to take the side bit of the glasses.

There we are. Cool.

You look beautiful.

I mean, I could do them, but they would go crazy.

Do you think I should do them? I've never ever done before.

Wow-wee!

Yay!

-Oh, my God!

-See you later.

'The average asking price for a property round here is about 2.5 million.

'I mean, 2.5 million quid.

'You read the statistics about London property prices,

'it's all boom time again.

'That's what they keep telling us,

'but you go to Glasgow and tell them Britain is booming...

..they'll laugh their heads off at you.

ENGINE REVS

Show this to people...

..in Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Show them what's going on. This is what you want to show them.

They come here, spend the money and that's all right.

I'm not bothered about them displacing the local residents,

traditional residents, whatever you want to call them,

with the mustard chinos and all that.

I'm not bothered if they displace them.

I mean, I'm not going to bleed purple pish out of my heart for them,

you know what I mean. But I'm just showing what's happening,

just, I'm just shining a wee bit of a torch on them, you know.

It's like, you know, you don't shoot the messenger.

'As far as other photographers go,

'I suppose the one I admire the most is probably Martin Parr.

'I mean, he was a big influence on me

'when I first started taking pictures.

'I've got to know him a bit now,

'and he's bought 20 prints off me for his collection,

'so I'm going to drop the last ones off to him today.'

'Hello?'

Morning, Martin. Dougie.

Right, Dougie. Come up. How you doing?

-Good. Good.

-Come in.

So, more prints, eh?

More prints, Martin. The last five.

Whoa. Nice.

I love this one eye business and that light through there.

Is that a flash, or a reflection, or what?

I think it's more a light.

-Cos it's more than a flash.

-Mm-hm.

And what's he dressed up as?

Don't know! Some sort of prince or something.

THEY LAUGH

He maybe IS a prince.

Yeah, maybe.

Prince Farouq, or something like that.

-I like the fact that you're in this.

-I know, I know.

-That's great. Don't you think?

-I know, I know.

I mean, was a guy like this OK about you shooting?

Well, I just done it quick and he was doing a selfie and then, you know.

That's good. I like the fact that you're in there.

That's why I selected that one.

He's got seven skins he's wearing.

-Crikey!

-Leather hat and gloves too.

What is this? Three, I don't know.

What is it, alligator or what?

Some sort of reptile.

-Four, five, six...

-Totally disgusting, isn't it?

-..seven.

Seven different skins he's wearing.

He went a bit bonkers, that guy, actually.

-Did he?

-Yeah. Yeah, he had a bit of attitude.

So, what happens then, when these people go bonkers? What do you say?

Well, the last thing I'd do is delete it.

But, you know, you just kind of walk on.

It depends. Sometimes you just feel like standing your ground with them.

But do people say, "Oh, I'm going to call the police"

-and all that stuff?

-Yeah, you get that sometimes.

You go, "On you go. I'll give you the number - 999."

You know, it's not any... THEY LAUGH

-It's an occupational hazard, isn't it?

-Yeah. Oh, definitely.

Very sharp, that, isn't it?

-Crikey.

-That's probably about a 1/60th, 125,

double flash arrests it little bit.

-Double flash.

-One at the top. One at the bottom.

So you get the... That's how you get that,

there's not any shadows around anything really, you know.

Great stuff, Dougie. Thanks very much.

Thanks, pal. No problem.

I think the first thing you've got to be when you are going so close to

people is absolutely bold and confident and, you know,

he's just got the brash sort of attitude

that cuts through all the shit and means you can go up to people.

It's a very intimidating thing to do and a lot of these people won't like

being photographed, because he couldn't give a shit, really, in a sense,

if some posh Arab is going to tell him off.

He'll just sort of shrug it off.

You know, it's just street life, isn't it? It's in your face.

It's brash, it's loud. And therefore it's absolutely appropriate

for the times that we live in.

'When I first started taking pictures,

'I wasn't really trying to make a living.

'I was just taking pictures of my friends and stuff that was happening

'roundabout Shoreditch where I live.'

That does say Brick Lane.

That's Gary, in fact. Let's see Gary.

Here's my mate. This is Gary's club.

-BBC Four. Doc on me.

-Oh, is it?

-For a doc.

-Oh, that must be an interesting afternoon's work.

What's the programme called?

What Artists Do All Day.

THEY LAUGH

See you later. Bye.

My first book was Shoreditch Wildlife.

I used to take my camera out every night and go partying.

Up all night at parties and then they're looking for somewhere to go after it.

All day Sunday, people would be lying on the floor.

It was all crazy times.

There was a lot of drugs. And mostly cocaine was about then.

It still is, but, you know, I don't...

It's nothing to do with me any more.

That's where I took the bagel shop picture with that mirror.

I was just in there getting a bagel.

I saw a taxi driver with a cabbie's badge on.

I just took a him as he was looking into the mirror.

Maybe two in the morning or something.

That's where I shot that one where she was in the burqa,

looking to buy a dress.

And this, before it got built, is that picture, you know, the old guy,

and he looks like the...old hipster.

So I just followed him.

That's where you get them off kilter.

But it was crazy, because one time

I shot someone outside the bagel shop.

A week later it was on CNN.

You know, all these pictures were on CNN.

I'd only shot it a week before.

It's crazy, you know, how things happen.

That's what you're looking for.

I used to buy and sell cars back in Glasgow, years ago,

when I got out of the Army.

Then I moved on to buying and selling camper vans.

You have to find a way how you can fund a project that you're doing,

so for me, it was through the camper vans,

but also I could go to Blackpool,

pick them up there and bring them back.

So it was like a free trip.

Blackpool was the first sort of like one where I said I think this could be a book.

It could be a story, you know, I can keep shooting.

Ended up in 30 trips to Blackpool.

This is one of the pictures here.

It was like a school, opera, pantomime, wi' them all.

There's that one and this one and the cheeky one and stuff, you know.

In every group there's a cracker though.

And the bride in that, she looks like a girl-next-door type.

I quite like her.

And I seen the Subaru tattoo.

Turbo Ted! HE CHUCKLES

And he goes by with the dog.

So by then I'd probably flashed at them a couple of times.

That's how they're starting to get annoyed.

You can see some of them going, "Who's he?" And that.

And yeah, it helps if they're a bit drunk,

you know what I mean. You don't know if they're drunk, but you just take it that they're drunk.

Same with me. Sometimes I would be.

You know, I've been here paralytic drunk before here as well.

Cos if you're going up to take pictures of them, you know,

it's just kind of like going up asking somebody to dance in a bar.

If you've had a couple of drinks, it's easier.

We're going to cut up here.

Basically just walking to the... BINGO CALLER ON PA

10p-a-go bingo. 10p.

What can you buy for 10p?

There's Eddie there. Look, talk of the devil.

Eddie? EDDIE LAUGHS

Hello, Dougie. How are you doing?

-Good, good.

-Nice to see you.

This is a real doorstep challenge.

-This isn't set up.

-How are you doing, buddy? Nice to see you again.

-Good.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-What can we do for you, Dougie?

Are you just having a wee day out in Blackpool, are yous?

It's my new book. My new story.

Well, your last one was excellent.

-Oh, right. That's good.

-Really was excellent.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah, yeah. So, you approve it, then?

Very much so. It was very good.

I don't know if the council would have been too happy about it, but...

-No...

-It was the truth.

It was the truth. You were really showing the truth.

# Every year when summer comes round

# Off to the sea I go... #

Here you go, bride-to-be.

# I said when it was done, is that supposed to be me?

# You properly mucked it up, the only thing I can see

# Is me little stick of Blackpool rock. #

You know, I always thought the pictures

were a little bit like Beryl Cook.

End of the pier, kind of like, saucy postcards, you know?

Blackpool's like Las Vegas with a Victorian twist.

Southerners, they don't come here.

Everybody who comes here is all from... They come from Wales

and a lot of them come from Glasgow or West Coast

and they come from all your Durhams, Newcastles

and Manchester and Liverpool.

WOMAN LAUGHS

Famous.

PROJECTION SOUNDTRACK

Are you the bride?

WOMEN LAUGH

This'll be a good one.

Blow some bubbles? Blow some bubbles.

I love these colours.

Let's see. WOMAN LAUGHS

This is where I took a picture of the lassie with the skint knee.

She was just right here.

The kebab shops are good, cos they are really bright at night

and you can switch the flash off and just shoot through the windows.

Just use the natural light.

I used to go in at night and hunt about for pictures, you know.

That's about the only kebab shop I've ever been barred from, in my life.

Someone dressed as a crayon.

You wonder where the green ones and the blue ones went.

The cyan and the yellow.

Look - you've got the pink and the red left.

I just need to be a wee bit ahead of the picture, to be in the moment, you know?

I know when they're going to fall down, skin their knees,

get the tits out, before they're going to do it. You know?

It's like I've seen everything.

I only know what they're going to do next because I've done it myself.

# Hey, baby, ooh-aah! #

What I like when they're looking at you is kind of, like, the fourth wall,

you can see them pointing and saying something to you.

That's what I like. Where you can see people...

expressions, emotions, you know, like, talking to you.

What's up?

But anyway, let's go.

LETTERBOX RATTLES

-Morning.

-Morning, pal.

-There we go. See?

-Bye!

More flash guns.

You can't have too many flash guns.

I've broke about four in the last couple of weeks.

These are all the dead ones.

I used to get them for about £10 on eBay and now they've went up to about 20.

Yeah. These are all old dead ones here, as well.

Usually what I do is end up gluing them,

it's like welding so they end up like that, with superglue.

Cos the bits break easy.

I know everything about these flash guns, although, you know,

I break that many of them.

It's not working.

It's another 20 quid.

It's all money. It's, like, if one of these cables go, that's 45 quid.

HE EXHALES SLOWLY

That's superglued, then we'll be away, Jack.

So we're going up to gay Knightsbridge and Mayfair and that.

Surprise the day, ain't we?

Eh?

I'm starting to wonder is that me, an artist, now? That's good.

Because you're here, now I can really call myself an artist, I think.

I don't know... I'm just a photographer really, aren't I?

Not exactly down on my luck, but not exactly making hundreds of money or anything,

so maybe I am an artist.

'I've been working on the Harrodsburg project for a 2.5 years now.

'I've done about 70 trips up to Knightsbridge.

'I've taken thousands of pictures.

'It's probably time to wrap it up.

'But, you know, there's always one more trip, one more picture to be had.'

This is kept all like that for horses,

even though you can't see any horses.

So one time, when there had been old money

and they'd have been going up and down on horses

instead of going up and down in Bentleys and Ducatis and,

I don't know... Ducati's a motorbike, isn't it?

Stop!

What is it?

No? For what?

See you later.

Go, go, go, go.

I don't listen to them.

They're just going to say, "Oh, give me your number, please," and stuff.

I don't know.

See these ones on the double lines.

What do you do with them on the double lines?

Do you lift them ever? See, there's a big Bugatti there, are you allowed to lift them?

But do you lift them?

Why? Cos you'd damage them?

Because if you damage a wing on a Bugatti, it's £1.5 million.

It's not worth his, you know?

The new money people own the Ferraris and Bugattis.

They seem to hate getting their picture taken.

They certainly don't stop and chat.

Some of the old eccentrics that I snap, you know,

they don't seem to mind so much.

So, what's with the out-to-lunch nails, Neville?

Everybody thinks it's an affectation, but the reality is I'm an artist.

I work with my hands.

A lot of time I'm working with paints and aerosol -

black and dark colours,

so all of that paint gets up and under my nails and just looks gross.

It's just a bit of self expression, really,

in this rather bland world we live in.

Do you like the photographs?

I'm not telling you!

No, I thought your photographs were quite fun.

I mean, you're obviously...

you like to go a bit edgy, don't you?

You're trying to rattle a few cages.

You try to provoke a little bit.

There's that bit of that in there.

But do you think they're racist at all?

-The pictures?

-You're showing it as it is and, let's face it,

all the old school people, all the old, arrogant,

English people that used to go there,

that generation is dying out now.

As interesting as some of them may be.

And now it's all different wealth from different countries, isn't it?

So, I think you're just...

It's like reportage what you're doing, really, isn't it?

It's reportage in an art format.

-How big's your legal team, Dougie?

-Hey, you're looking at it.

Hello. Can I take your picture?

When I studied photojournalism for a year,

one of the things when they looked at your portfolio to get in

was you could see that you could get near people

and that's something even a lot of photojournalists can't do,

they can't go near people.

Without them seeing them taking a portrait.

You have to be able to get near people to take pictures.

There's a point where you're in the picture, when you get that close,

you are in it, rather than just here, looking at it -

you kind of come in it.

-Can you delete it?

-No. Bye.

-Hey. That's private property!

-You're not allowed, OK.

-OK?

-You're on video.

Hey. You're on video here.

Sorry. Hey, you're on video, you assaulted me.

You grabbed this. You'd better run away.

We're going to call the police.

Well, bye, then. Go and do it.

Cheerio. Bye.

The whole project isn't about Arabs.

It isn't about women.

It's just that the women go shopping in these places more than men do.

I'm not picking on women, but women do photograph better.

Older women photograph the best,

then younger women and then older men,

and then younger men. That's what I think, anyway.

There's a lot of them documentaries out there that are poverty porn

and I think that this is like an antidote to it.

To me, this is like seeing it from the other side.

I'm not an activist, you know?

That's up to other people.

You know? Just show the pictures and they can decide.

DOORBELL RINGS

Hi, Dougie. How are you?

-Good, good. Book edit day.

-Yeah.

First edit.

I think that Dougie is the best

street photographer working at the moment worldwide.

-There are some that fit into documentary...

-Yeah.

..but actually what's interesting is not really that,

it's the portraits.

That's great. That's great, of course.

A street photographer needs to be very curious about people.

-That one I love.

-You like that one?

Yep. They are a part of the photograph.

They're not just voyeurs.

'Although they are taking pictures that are sometimes a little cruel,

'they're not doing it out of cruelty.

'They are doing it out of curiousity

'and fascination with people.'

I mean, I love her.

-So, we've got a book then.

-We're more or less there.

Yeah, no. Happy. It's looking brilliant.

For me, a great photographer, an interesting person

and someone I think who is going to be around for a long time.

It's on a disabled bay.

I don't think he's got a disabled badge.

MUSIC: Rubber Biscuit by The Chips

Can you kiss the dog? Do you kiss the dog?

Look. He doesn't want to be kissed, here. Look.

Wow, man. That's some car.

Is that a Mercedes? Nice one, innit?

I'd rather have that.

That's my dream. That's how I started by selling camper vans.

If I was still doing that, I'd be a millionaire, instead of...

That or packing shelves.

Packing shelves, I'd make more money.