{"id":1673,"date":"2009-06-24T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-24T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/?p=1673"},"modified":"2009-06-24T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-24T20:00:00","slug":"gamblers-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/gamblers-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Gamblers All"},"content":{"rendered":"

“…it’s been a tough fight worth fighting, as we all drive along betting on another day.\u201d Charles Bukowski, Gamblers All <\/em><\/p>\n

I wanted to document the dog races \u2013 the hope and despair and the dreams of instant wealth. There is an underclass realism of a subculture dominated by old aged men and like-minded social kin.<\/p>\n

I wanted to convey that loneliness and desperation by working with the desolate light, empty spaces, mid 60s d\u00e9cor and symbolic colour. Allied with an economy in decline and a recession over-due, my images describe an aspect of historic British culture struggling to retain a sense of stability and the divide of winning and losing in 2008. Hopefully the images demonstrate more intimately, the reality and consequences of a short cut to short-term wealth. <\/p>\n

The photographs in this series were made at the Portsmouth Greyhound Races and The Ladbrokes in Winchester.
Sophy Monk
www.sophymonk.com<\/a> <\/p>\n