PJ Webb in front of one of her photographs at her exhibition in St Andrews Mews. Photograph by Erica Smith.

Women who ride motorbikes

Over the last two years, photographer pjwebb has been working on a series of portraits of women who ride motorbikes. Erica Smith rode her push-bike to St Andrews Mews to talk to the photographer about her work.

‘pjwebb’ as she is known professionally, or Patti when you speak to her, has been a photographer since the 1980s. Before that, she was a classically trained ballerina. “My training as a dancer established an understanding of line, rhythm and movement. I didn’t know it when I made the decision to take up a camera, but when dancers are looking to change career, photography is a path that is often recommended to them.”

She has also been a biker since her early twenties when she bought a 100cc ‘Honda Fizzy’ in Holloway Road, London and drove it home. These days, she rides something a lot more powerful!

Generally, motorbiking is a solitary passtime – the helmets and the noise of the engines don’t allow for easy conversation – but bikers tend to socialise at cafes, bars and conventions.

Tiffany Coates – ridden six continents

Sadly, Patti’s partner, another biker, died just after lockdown, and the motorcycling community has held an important role in supporting her over the last two years. She has always been a keen attendee of the Women in Motorcycling Exhibition, and she felt driven to document the women bikers she has met at this event.

“The project came about because I took a picture of my friend Louisa, in her kitchen. I realised how different she looked when she was not on her motorbike. What crept into my head were the images of people at motorway stops looking away or looking at me with a curiosity and, I got the sense of, a slight looking down.”

People make assumptions about bikers when they turn up in town after a long ride – their hair might look a mess and the clothes they wear as protection on the road can hide how unique each person really is. Patti decided she wanted to photograph some of the remarkable women bikers she had met – and chose a diptych format where they are shown both on and off their bikes.

As a result of the project, she learned the life stories of some amazing women. Some of them were photographed in their homes, some on the road, and some came to Hastings where she chose to photograph them in the bus shelter by Hastings Contemporary in the Old Town.

She is very careful how she lights her subjects, and then works digitally in Photoshop and Lightroom to achieve a very painterly effect – there is a touch of magical realism about her portraits. They are a worthy tribute to women who have stories to tell about their lives both in and out of the saddle.

Pat Thomson – ridden thousands of miles, notably South America, Japan, Korea.

Patti is delighted that her exibition is on show in Hastings town centre over ‘Motorbike Weekend’. Whether you are a biker or not, this is an exhibition that is a delight to visit – and if you are lucky, you will get the chance to talk to Patti about her work and the subjects of the photographs.

The exhibition runs until Friday 5 May in St Andrew’s Mews TN34 5SJ.
It is open on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 April from 12-5pm,
Friday 28 April  to Monday 1 May 12-5pm.
Wednesday 3 May 12-5pm and Friday 5 May 12-2pm
(The exhibition will also be open for a couple of hours on Saturday 6 May before it is taken down.)

You can see more of pjwebb’s work on her website.

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