Beginning in 1980, Merrick Morton set about going to East and South Central Los Angeles - traveling as far as San Diego - to document street gang culture. As an outsider from the San Fernando Valley, Morton was always interested in cultures that were different from his own. The folks in these neighbourhoods immediately took to Rick and his quizzical eye, allowing him to move among them freely and affording him unrestricted access to their lives. Clique: West Coast Portraits from the Hood, 1980-1996, Morton's first monograph, is comprised of two-decades worth of photographs wherein he documents these communities, some of which have been largely ignored by the mainstream media, and captures their spirit. With this collection, he strove to keep the cultural identity of these neighbourhoods and their inhabitants intact, rendering their stories in poignant black-and-white and colour photography. Their family heritage is unmistakable in the still yet moving moments. Inspired by the work of Danny Lyon and Antonin Kratochvil, Morton travelled, unhindered and unafraid, into the barrios of East Los Angeles, eventually developing his own style, unmatched by anyone of his generation shooting in this arena. His work is rooted in trying to break down the stereotypes of these proud communities and presenting them as is for the world to see. Recently, through Instagram and Facebook, Morton has reconnected with a number of his subjects (and their families), many of whom he shot decades earlier. He has found a community curious to see itself immortalized in his work and a new audience intrigued by what's been there all along.
