Teapot Café c1937-8

Julian Trevelyan was interested in photographing everyday life in the hope of revealing significant patterns of unconscious behaviour. Seeing a correlation between the aims of Surrealism and the aims of Mass-Observation, Trevelyan accepted Tom Harrisson's invitation to participate in the Worktown project and travelled to Bolton in 1938. For the socially consciencious Trevelyan the project had particular resonance, presenting an opportunity to tell the ‘truth’ about everyday life for everyday people. His photographs for Mass-Observation reveal a Surrealist fascination with the odd and eccentric in the everyday.
Julian Trevelyan 1910-1988