This personal project by Alexander Beer is part of the London-based photographer’s recent trip to Accra to document the city’s sub cultures and collaborate with local creatives. Teaming up with streetwear brand Arcminute, they headed to Jamestown, one of the most ancient and storied areas of the Ghana, to visit the House of Pain boxing gym. Renowned for nurturing world-class boxers, here they met athletes of all ages and both sexes including members of the national boxing team, and were invited back by the coach to shoot the next day. “We turned up early and the boxers were all preparing to train,” Beer recalls. “The women were incredible - sparing like they were in an Olympic final with one round left to go. Their raw energy and strength makes for compelling imagery.”
Nataal Magazine
Athletica Magazine
‘‘We are all the same.’ The sentence may seem like an unremarkable maxim, at first, but in the presence of Alexander Beer’s work, it seems to take on all the tell-tale weight of a deeper truth. Maybe it is the grainy images, the back-grounds, or the faces - all of which bear witness to an enormous world, and yet are seen from the same angle.’
‘Alexander Beer is a photographer who shows you the world. His subjects vary from his own personal experience in By The River to capturing authentic moments of humanity in a diverse set of communities. His prolific range of work shows his range, from being able to capture the raw power of female boxers with a series of black and white analogue photography in one his three upcoming book projects, Ringleaders. His photography draws you in, and leaves you wanting more.’