Austin Bradley’s The Night Climbers of Oxford documents the hidden culture of night climbing in Oxford, following a small group of students and graduates as they move through Oxford, climbing, scaling and traversing the College rooftops of Oxford University. A tradition that can be traced back to the early 1900s.
This series was made as part of Bradley’s final project studying photography on the Oxford Brookes Photography BA (HONS) and documents modern climbers continuing that legacy, navigating college rooftops and architectural features while the city sleeps. It has recently been awarded an Honourable Mention as part of the International Photography Awards (IPA), formerly the Lucie Awards, with the gala and photo ceremony taking place in Athens, Greece later this year.
The work takes visual inspiration from 1930s film noir, photographic series from the same era and John Bulmer’s Cambridge Night Climbers (1958). A book will be available to view during the exhibition, which presents the images alongside written accounts and stories from the climbs and selected stories will be printed and available for visitors to read.
