In the late 1970s, Martha Cooper was one of a handful of photographers to capture the colourful graffiti appearing on the city’s subways, at a time when the city had declared war on the sub-culture and it’s neighbourhoods were in the throes of economic collapse.

Decades later her book Subway Art, a published in partnership with Henry Chalfant, became the ‘bible’ of graffiti and a catalyst for the spread of urban art globally. Martha’s extensive body of work before and after New York City’s graffiti explosion highlights the many forms of street creativity that are often overlooked by a passers-by.

Street Shots 1970 – 2019 features photos taken over four decades in such diverse places as New York, Japan, Haiti, Baltimore, Berlin, Japan and Sao Paulo, and includes Martha’s personal mementos and collections.

This exhibition is created in partnership with the feature documentary Martha: A Picture Story about Martha’s remarkable life journey and surprising rise to prominence. In cinemas now!