Ian Beesley's LIFE book free pop-up exhibition in Saltaire in July

LIFE. Ian Beesley: Retrospective is a 200-page coffee table-style book set to feature black and white images taken across the Bradford district and beyond since the early 1970s.

The book’s production process will be charted in a free pop-up exhibition to be held in the roof space at Salts Mill, Saltaire, from Saturday, July 8 to Sunday, July, 16.

Pop up exhibition of Life (the book production) will be installed the roof space @SaltsMill for one week only starting 8th July . 90 handmade double spreads over 300 photos 108 metres in length @bjp1854 @BBCLookNorth @IMcMillan pic.twitter.com/zKxIM55yLL

— Ian Beesley (@IanBeesleyphoto) June 28, 2023

It follows a free exhibition of the same name, held last year, which was also located in the roof space of Salts Mill. The book will be launched when Mr Beesley holds a talk about his career at Salts Mill in Saltaire on Sunday, July 9, from 3pm.

The pop-up exhibition will give visitors an insight into the process of putting the book together, which took Mr Beesley six months from the end of last year.

Some of Ian Beesley's pictures showing life in Bradford in the 1970s and '80s (Image: Ian Beesley)

The display will include 90 handmade double spreads of potential pages for inclusion in the book, featuring 300 photographs which measures 108 metres in length.

He said: “It’s great to be back at Salts Mill. It will have 300 photos.

“We’re putting up all of the roughs, so people can see what we started with.

“The exhibition will also have the first designer roughs and see the process of how it started and how we tweaked it.

A closer looks at Ian Beesley's book, Life (Image: Ian Beesley)

“We also have the final book and people can understand the process. People will be able to see how the book was put together.

“It’s hard work putting a book together. It took me six months to just put it together. I put the pictures together physically on A3 sheets.

The Life book will take centre stage at Salts Mill in July (Image: Ian Beesley/Salts Mill)

“Around 38,000 people came to see my exhibition at Salts Mill last year, so I already had that feedback about the exhibition and about what worked and what didn’t.”

The book features sections dedicated to different themes of his work including photographs of Bradford mills of yesteryear, Bradford Bulls, the Bantams, coal mines and pubs from Bradford taken during the 1970s and 80s.

A further look inside Ian Beesley's coffee table-style book (Image: Ian Beesley/Salts Mill)

Ian Beesley’s Life pop-up exhibition will be open on Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9 from 11am to 4pm, then from Wednesday, July 12 to Sunday, July 16, also between 11am and 4pm. But the exhibition will close at 2.45pm on July 9 in time for his talk there at 3pm.

For more information on tickets for the launch event on July 9, priced £6, go to saltsmillshop.co.uk/products/ian-beesley-life-book-launch-talk-ticket