They say a picture tells a thousand words, and if Shari Denson’s photographs could speak they'd have a fair few stories to tell...
This new exhibition showcases a stunning collection of Shari’s photographs taken at gigs including shots of Arctic Monkeys, The Twang, Radiohead, White Stripes, REM, The Charlatans, Ian Brown and Echo and the Bunnymen.
In pride of place is this image of Ian McCulloch.
“I first saw Echo and the Bunnymen when I was about 12 – that night is still one of my most memorable gigs,” says Shari.
“Ian McCulloch is the king of cool, and even then I was fascinated by his persona onstage.
“This picture was taken at Versus Cancer this year, it was amazing to see him sing Ceremony with Peter Hook from New Order on bass.
“To finally get a shot of him doing that 20 years after I first saw him was great.”
Each shot captures the enthusiasm and energy of the gigs caught through surging crowds. The images evoke the memories of the sounds, sights and even smells of a live gig.
Shari has used the perspective of the fan in all of her images - the passion and status of the performer on stage is as much a hallmark of the work as her own desire to transmit the feeling of being there and watching the band.
Shari has already had her work published in The Fly, Big Issue in the North, Time Out, Reverb Magazine, Plan B and the NME.
Guy Garvey from Elbow says of her: “Shari has knack of making ugly b******* like me look cool. Plenty of photographers have an eye. It’s like Shari has two.”
The exhibition runs at Warrington Museum until November 17. Entry is free.