Black and white photo of litter bin with ad for The New Worker - South Africa: End Apartheid! Sanctions Now!

Litter bin with ad for The New Worker – South Africa: End Apartheid! Sanctions Now! Design Council Archive GB-1837-DES-DCA-30-1-STR-LI-1950s-8

Photographs of litter bins from the Design Council Picture Library were included in one of the major shows of the Brighton Photo Biennial. Selected by Martin Parr, the images formed part of the exhibition ‘House of the Vernacular’, an installation comprising seven diverse collections of vernacular photography by commercial and non-professional photographers from around the world.

Partner of the Biennial since its inception, the Design Archives were delighted to be featured so prominently in this fourth edition. Held at Fabrica, the exhibition attracted 14 500 visitors.

An article by English Heritage archivist, Ian Leith considered the significance of the litter bin photographs within the wider context of national photographic heritage: ‘British Litter Bins 1950-1966’ Photoworks Magazine, no. 15, Nov-April 2010-11 pp. 36-43.

Images from the exhibition opening can be found on the Fabrica flickr page.

See The Independent for an article which includes the Litter Bins in their gallery of highlights of The Brighton Photo Biennial, and The Telegraph for a review of The House of Vernacular.

To see the original Design Council litter bin photographs, contact the Design Archives.