Dawn in the coolest hood in L.A. (so some say).

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Michael Morgan ‘Grassroots’ 

The phrase “living for the weekend” is a term that almost all of us can relate to, whether it’s partying with friends, spending time with loved ones or for many of those who participate in Amateur sports. The world of Sunday league football to some of us may seem quite the hidden world, but for those who partake in it, to the point of it being a weekly ritual, it gives them a sense of purpose and many would be lost without it. 
It’s this sense of belonging to a community of like-minded Individuals that draws people in. Whether it be once or twice a week you meet, the bond you create becomes a brotherhood, an unbreakable tie, shared by a love for competing. During that time your together, nothing else matters, often the perfect escape from the wonders of everyday life.

Michael Morgan started exploring this world two years ago. Through the form of photography, he began capturing the realities of amateur football. Morgan entitled the documentary piece as “Grassroots”, which started in his home county of Suffolk – a primarily working-class area where football was part of everyday life. Empty changing rooms and portraits of players gave a behind the scenes perspective. The images questioned the uber masculine reputation that comes with Amateur football, with Morgan’s subjects often giving off a genuine sense of vulnerability.  

Recently the photographers focus turned towards the east end of London, primarily that of Hackney Marshes. This new collection of work concentrates on those that are marginalised within the sport. Ideas around diversity and equality take front seat, two subjects Morgan feels are “key themes that are particularly underrepresented in modern day football”. 

With divisions in our society constantly teetering at breaking point, a close examination into these marginalised sections of the sports world seems vital. At professional level, players are submitted to racial abuse at a totally uncontrollable rate. This effects amateur level as well, if you’re from a minority and seeing this reported so often in the news, how would you feel walking out on the pitch for your local team. 
 
Also, the working class, those who hold football closest to their hearts, are those that felt most alienated from society itself. So, perhaps the answer to bringing everyone closer to each other again, may well lie on the football pitch. It’s not often you get this insight into quite the enclosed section of the sports world. Many questions may well hold answers in ‘grassroots’. 


Grassroots

High Desert Serenade

Approaching storm unloading on the parched city below.

Passing Storm, Santa Clarita

A road passes through the farmland where the migrant workers are no longer welcome.

Echoes of Steinbeck

Lonesome perished tree in the high desert.

A Waltz with Julia

Ancient rock formation in Santa Clarita, California.

Geology

Express mountain pine in the November afternoon light, Big Bear, California.

Relic from the Family Trip

Urban angles in the hard summer light, Downtown Los Angeles.

Slug Attack

Urban abstraction in Burbank, including a bridge.

Underpass

Dayshift Blues

Chain link fence and abandoned property in the San Fernando Valley, California.

Keep the Fuck Out

Urban morning in Los Angeles with lonely flowers in a vase by the window.

Flowers from a Stranger

Abstraction in the city with reflective windows and a stray shopping cart.

Glass, Tree, Shopping Cart, Sunset

Early evening light on an ancient canyon in northern New Mexico.

Remembrance of Rivers

Winter light hitting the arid mountains in high desert, southern California.

Winter Desert Evening

Black sheep is a representation of another multiverse shift where this black sheep of the family is shown wearing in what she calls “traditional attire”.  From an ancient tribe crossed between modern Pop Star Goth fashion, this reject is ready to prove that the family tree has deep roots and a deeper expression of self. “I am more than my clothes, this is simply an enhancement of my self-expression” 

Black Sheep 

The woman in the rock is a play off multi-dimensional shifts of me. I wanted to show that she was once a powerful ancient Being from a different universe and had nothing but the last of her riches to cover her; which for me brought  a lot of vulnerability. Banished from her home world, she glitched into a mountain creating the crystal cave where she lay dormant and powerless at the mercy of a new society. They discovered and understood the power she held, feeling a need to help her grow into her full potential they begun digging deeper into the caves, finding jewels and crystals to cover her body in hopes that’d she would wake and reclaim her power and turn it into greatness. This artwork is a full representation of my own journey and rediscovery of myself through art and has helped me gain strength in the art world.

The Woman in the Rock 

Kenron Morgan Jr. created this artwork to show viewers a glimpse into the black experience. The gold mask is a representation of mastering Code-switching, the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation, that a lot of POC especially Black people of color are familiar with. It’s our unique ability to adapt to any environments in which we are placed. The Muse is behind a mask made of gold because it serves as a means of distraction to hide the man who cries inside of it. The golden armor protects him from racial slurs, comments, judgements from those who look down upon him due to the color of his skin and difference in social economic background. The Lines on the left side of the muse represent words that he has been able to deflect and change into his own words of gold, while shining bright and moving forward. In contrast, the lines on the right represent the words he is unable to deflect, Behind the Mask is a person who hears all those lingering words and would rather have that pain sealed than to express it publicly. He finds his confidence in the confines of the mask. Showing that It is hard letting go of words that you once let define you, and much it’s easier to put on a facade than to face vulnerability.

Dressing The Part

This project explores the themes and complex emotions that one would suffer when living and managing with anxiety. The imagery you see here, are purposefully constructed to appear out of focus and under exposed to give the illusion of what one may experience when fighting with consuming thoughts that stem from dark corners of the fragile mind. The colours are used as an elegant disguise in order to ‘put a face on’ and parade from one place to another without knowing what the fragile mind holds; a combination of which the avant-garde and intense colour pallet, contradicts these consuming thoughts.

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