Book shortlisted in the 2025 British Book Design & Production awards!
Shocked by the rapid changes in her local city centre of Southampton, Janey began photographing areas of the city centre and taking portraits of people she met.
Conversations revealed many common issues. Although a strong civic pride was evident, people had serious concerns about how their city centre was changing. Mass redevelopment, shop closures, increase in the student population were seen as major issues. Lack of consultation about the development of their home town, left many feeling excluded and sidelined.
Wanting to explore these issues further, Janey expanded the project to include other similar sized towns and cities across the UK. Each had once played an essential part in the country’s industrial development, but the same concerns were voiced by the people she met.
City Centre Survival is the culmination of this project, and explores how history, changing fortunes and planning decisions affect the lives and outlook of people in towns and cities today.
Janey’s portraits and photographs, combined with a collection of commissioned essays by historians, academics and councillors, results in a thought provoking book about a important subject that has no easy solution, but one that concerns so many of us.
First edition of 200 signed copies
£35.00
Includes UK shipping
144 pages
170x225mm
Quarter bound book with greyboard covers, foiled and debossed with hanging elastic bound into spine
Designed by Stop, Look and Listen
Printed by Printsmith Productions
Colour treatment by Colour and Books
Janey Devine FRPS
Having followed an early career in IT and built up a successful software company, Janey was an early convert to digital photography. She bought one of the first digital cameras in 1998.
A few years later she sold her business and was able to focus on her passion for photography. Self taught, she initially experimented with a number of techniques, endeavouring to produce an “impression” of the landscape, in both urban and rural locations.
However she quickly realised that she wanted to create images that explored deeper into a given subject matter. She currently works on long-form projects, looking at contemporary issues affecting us in an era of growing uncertainty.
