Photographer and IOU Collaborator Charlie Meecham
As IOU celebrates 50 years of making experimental art, The South Pennine Series brings together the work of long-standing IOU collaborator Charlie Meecham with an invitation to get outside and explore Calderdale creatively.
Charlie’s photographs capture the moors, reservoirs and valleys around us. Each image is linked to a local walk and Ordnance Survey location, inviting you to step beyond the photograph and discover the landscape for yourself.
About Photographer Charlie Meecham
Atmosphere
The South Pennine Series
“These photographs form part of the South Pennines Series that I began after moving to Hebden Bridge from Oxfordshire in 1974. I already knew the area from staying with a school friend and it had left a strong impression on me. It was very different from rural Oxfordshire and I found it an exciting place to explore.
When I arrived, I joined a young, lively community including Jenney Bevan, Kate Mellor, Martin Parr and Ray Elliott, who had established the Albert Street Workshop.
I began photographing while walking from Eiffel Street, where I was living. I quickly discovered the numerous public footpaths crossing the tree-lined valleys and moorland, giving me access to a landscape with so much to explore. I became particularly interested in the ruined 17th- and 18th-century farm buildings scattered across the moors, as well as the walls, causeways and steps that reveal how people lived and worked within this landscape. During the years I worked on the series, the area continued to change. Its heritage gained greater recognition, the canal reopened and abandoned mills began to find new uses.”
Charlie Meecham, September 2026