We’ll Miss You, Pete: Honouring Photographer Peter Goodbody
We were devastated to learn of the recent passing of our friend and contributor, Pete Goodbody: photographer and cultural philanthropist.
Pete, or P3dro, was a talented photographer and writer with a keen interest in artists, festivals, live music, food and travelling. He championed many people, projects and places across Liverpool, The Double Negative included. Pete attended our first contributor meetings, suggesting people and projects close to his heart that deserved more coverage, to be shouted about and celebrated. He would later become a donor, ever eager to help sustain indie publishing.
Many artists reading this will remember his enthusiasm and encouragement – attending their first gig or exhibition with his camera, sharing images afterwards (often for free), buying artwork, tickets or merch: ongoing acts of kindness that help nurture culture, as well as feeding Pete’s love of the scene. He was often accompanied by his beloved dog Kylie: “Her racing name was ‘Spinning Around’. She does. Often. But only anti-clockwise.”
Pete readily and regularly contributed thoughtful words and images to The Double Negative and other publications that discussed art and culture: covering the Sicilian Mafia in Italy and hyperrealistic sculpture in Denmark; giant pinhole cameras and Tracey Emin’s Bed; festivals Homotopia, River of Light, LOOK, Africa Oyé. He even showed up with his camera at Antony Gormley’s London studio.
Pete had two, equally talented sides: his creative practice, and his work as a barrister, specialising in commercial and chancery law. He was respected in both fields, in part, we imagine, due to his love of people and interest in their lives, a sharp eye for detail, and unwavering energy and enthusiasm.
We last saw Pete on a walking tour of Liverpool sculpture we organised a few months ago. Of course, as the above image attests, he showed up to support. We laughed, talked about art, its purpose, history, made new friends, had a few drinks, and reminisced about parts of the city he’d enjoyed walking and photographing.
Pete, you were a generous friend, a lovely person, and you’ll leave a space here in the city. You’ll be sorely missed.
Here are some of our favourite Pete Goodbody articles.
Above: Liverpool’s River Of Light – In Pictures
“This mini festival of eleven light installations dotted around Pier Head, Mann Island, Liverpool One and Castle Street is both a delight and a gentle re-introduction to the point at which we all remember our last gig, or the last real get-together with mates.”
Letizia Battaglia: Breaking the Code of Silence
“Battaglia, ultimately, suffered for her work. She lived in the old centre of Palermo, a grim place to be and was often burgled as a result. Death threats due to the nature of her work were a feature of her life, yet she carried on. She wasn’t the only one. There are plenty of photographs in this exhibition of magistrates and prosecutors slain by Mafia bullets who fought the same war. But it is due to her work, and the crucial role played by her pictures, that has helped to give Sicilians a voice in opposing the Mafia system.”
“Shooting Africa Oyé is always good fun, both the bands and the crowd (I had a pass for the pit, but it isn’t always needed — it’s easy enough to get close to the front anyway). It’s a highlight of the year for me; Liverpool does this kind of event so well and seems to have an understanding, even in this challenging economic climate, that it is important still to get people out in the park to have a good time.”
Field Trip: Gosh! Is It Alive? ARKEN Museum Of Modern Art, Denmark
“Nakedness is a recurring theme. In itself, this seems an unlikely problem for an exhibition, but these were replicas of people laying bare not only their bodies, but also their souls. We were staring into their lives, and they let us in. It didn’t matter that they were inanimate; to the viewer, they were pretty much real, and it would only take one of them to breathe or to wink back at us and we would have been completely freaked out.”
Venice Biennale and Tea at the British Pavilion
“3,000 cups of free tea were being served in the British Pavilion every day. Art? Who cares when there’s tea involved.
Actually, I do care. These things are important. A nice cup of tea might seem like a kind of quirky token in the British Pavilion, but when the same thing is done in the Iraqi pavilion, then it becomes all the more important. Here we saw works by a selection of artists based in Iraq but who were all working on the same theme of representing daily life in a war ravaged country.”
Laura Robertson and Mike Pinnington
All images courtesy Pete Goodbody except Palermo, 1992. Rosaria Schifani, the widow of police agent Vito killed together with judge Giovanni Falcone, Francesca Morvillo and his colleagues Di Cillo and Antonio Montinaro © Letizia Battaglia
See all of Pete Goodbody’s images and words, contributed to this publication, here, and his website and Twitter
