It’s not often that a photojournalist rubs shoulders with major crime bosses and comes away unscathed. But that’s exactly what British photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg did for four years, documenting some of the UK’s seediest characters during the late 1990s, culminating in his celebrated 2001 book, The Firm.
During this time, Bain Hogg somehow gained the trust of London’s most notorious criminals, including Freddie "Brown Bread" Foreman, a well-known enforcer connected to the Kray twins, and Joe Pyle, a central figure in the feared Pyle gang, who ran the city’s unlicensed boxing industry.
Now, over 20 years after its publication, The Firm returns to the limelight, but not as we know it. Until September 03, Leica Gallery London will display previously unseen images from the series, revealing more about the turn-of-the-century UK underworld.
“The reason the pictures resonate is because I never ever lied to them [the criminals]," Bain Hogg told Photography News.
“From the start I made it clear I didn’t want to photograph their own presentation – no posed pictures and no complicity. I soon realized that they actually enjoy being presented in this hard, real way”.
According to Photography News, the exhibition prints have been pulled straight from Bain Hogg’s “yellow and black Kodak boxes,” after decades collecting dust.
And with the cobwebs blown away, we see these gangsters in all aspects: from dysfunctional family life to how they carried out business and mourned the loss of criminal associates.
“Do not judge your subjects but be interested by them. Allow them to ‘speak’ through the pictures, never ever put yourself or your bias first,” said Bain Hogg.
Jocelyn Bain Hogg – The Firm is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00, running until September 02. For more information, visit the Leica Gallery London listing page.
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