Coming out of a summer where we witnessed the best and worst aspects of English culture at the Euro’s, where people were grappling with life outside of lockdown and out of the EU we have curated, England Your England, an exhibition that examines the difference between who we think we are as a nation and who we really are.
Borrowing the title from George Orwell’s 1941 essay where he attempted to define English culture at the height of the Second World War, we invited a collection of photographers to submit an image that reflected what English culture meant to them at this pivotal moment in time.
From Hackney to the Yorkshire Dales and back the images are wide-ranging in content and geographic spread. They explore personal reflections and the wider political questions around what it means to be English in a post-Brexit era.
The featured photographers include Adama Jalloh, Annie Lai, Jameela Elfaki, Juliet Klottrup, Kerry J Dean, Nina Mandanhar, Rhiannon Adam, Sophie Stafford and Wendy Huynh.
The final nine images will be on show at the Outside Gallery, Coal Drops Yard from 8 September to 14 November and have also been made into a limited-edition zine featuring INGLAN, a specially commissioned poem by Rene Matic that you can buy here.
England Your England, 8 September – 14 November.
Adama Jalloh, Untitled
This was taken a few years ago as I was making my way back home from photographing on the street all day. These two women and their children were making their way to a hall party which instantly reminded me of when I was younger.
Growing up in London in an African household there were always alternative spaces where communities came together, whether that’s to celebrate, pray, morn or simply socialize. This photograph is part of an ongoing series called Love Story which focuses on my relationship with aspects of London and my admiration for the beautiful subtleties I come across within Black communities.
Annie Lai, Karaoke
The picture was taken during Civic Voice Archive Recording at Hackney Chinese Community Center at London Fields. It’s a karaoke event organised by Vietnamese artist Moi Tran to preserve older songs that are at risk of being lost and the next generations may never have the opportunity of enjoying. The women in the photo are enjoying the performances while having a joyful conversation.
Jameela Elfaki, Power
My England represented here is a diverse one, where beauty and cultures collide with tower blocks and inner-city grit. To me, England is a country of juxtapositions; the clash of cultures, darkness but also beauty. This is an image of hope, strength and positivity.
We find ourselves in the midst of exceptional times, facing an environmental crisis, a global pandemic, all the while continuously fighting against deep-rooted and institutional racism and classism within our own country. Saffiyah here represents defiance against this and a regal proudness of heritage and identity. Saffiyah Khan rising high.
Image as seen in AZEEMA, issue three.
Juliet Klottrup, Bleak Bank Farm
William Dawson of ‘Bleak Bank Farm’ is my neighbour, his family run a hill farm at the foot of Ingleborough Mountain, in the Yorkshire Dales which they have done for 100 years.
I took this photograph on a mid-June morning. The Dawsons had been gathering their grazing sheep off the fell which meant a 3 am milking start time before a mountain climb to meet neighbouring shepherds at the summit. The Dawsons shear their own sheep, this image to me represents the physical toil and attentive care they give to their flock. This is a yearly event that is done for the welfare of the animal, this Dalesbred fleece will be worthless against its synthetic competitor.
I have been documenting William’s farming life for two years now, milking, haymaking, sheep gathering, clipping and walling to name a few historical processes passed down through the generations still being used today. In the Yorkshire Dales farmers are at the heart of rural communities not only as an employer but for their vital role in the management and maintenance of the land in the Yorkshire Dales.
My slice of England has infinite horizons, shadowy clouds rolling above green moorland, endless dry stone walls, pastures speckled white and black with grazing sheep and cows. When I think of the future of “My England” I hope this sustainable heritage is supported and stays part of it.
Kerry J Dean, Tesco Girl
I wanted to work on a set of images that reflected the times we’ve all been living in. The distance, the separation, the suffocation of uncertainty and domesticity.
Just before the first lockdown, our family relocated from London to the countryside and I’ve felt incredibly grateful for all that’s brought. Having the sea and woodland on my doorstep has been a saviour. Bizarrely I feel a real sense of optimism and celebration which I think is also reflected in these images.
Tesco Girl was shot on a close friend, at our local sea swimming spot, where we would reunite. It also seemed instinctively like the right choice to shoot this plastic inflatable costume here as a nod to the obvious but catastrophic impact that plastic is having on the natural environment,
Tesco Girl from the series The Blow Up, 2021. Inflatable by Sankim worn by Kirsty McDougall. Image as seen in More or Less, September 2021.
Nina Mandanhar, “Tyson” Rana
This image is from Gurkha Sons, a series of images that documents a new generation of British-Nepali’s, zooming in on forms of collective cultural expression through style, music, sport and the social spaces these young men inhabit.
Since 2004, Gurkha families have migrated multi-generational households from Nepal to Britain under new settlement rights. The population of Nepalis in the UK has increased from 6,000 to an estimated 100,000. The image from this series was shot in Aldershot, its close proximity to the Army base making it home to the largest Nepali diasporic community in the UK. Here, Tyson customises his hat with his fathers Army medal.
Tyson is part of a group that call themselves k-BOYZ. The k stands for Kaprukka, the Nepali word for frozen stiff, a reference to how they feel when they ride their bikes in the cold English weather. k-BOYZ organise and promote their own events and parties at the Empire Club, a multi-functional space that began its life as a 1930’s Art Deco cinema.
Rhiannon Adam, Spliff No Cigar
A marker-pen scrawl on the rough concrete of the Harbour Arm announced our location as “Margate”. Sun directly overhead. Beach-ball bellies. Pink skin cooking – like underdone chicken. Conversation snippets on the breeze. “Down from London”. "Outsiders". A racial slur. The presumptive camaraderie of whiteness.
The men gathered, listlessly, seemingly purposeless until spliff time and an air of momentary sharp focus. Nick offered it to me, and I noticed on his right arm outstretched an almost photographic rendition of Churchill.
In the following weeks, Churchill would make the news when his statue was graffitied in London during BLM protests. Split sentiment on a tangled rock. I was reminded of taking this picture of Nick’s arm. Divided conversations in a divided town. Churchill no cigar. Nick with a spliff. Flat cap and Emporio Armani. Steel eyes and golden Foster’s. This is England.
Sophie Stafford, Bingo
This photograph was taken at Armley New Western Bingo Club on the outskirts of Leeds, West Yorkshire.
This image reflects on an extraordinary period of chaos within British politics. Gambling our vote on the Brexit referendum was a risk our country took and it is yet to be decided if it will pay off. Coincidentally New Western Bingo Club burnt down in an accident during the same year our departure from the EU was confirmed.
Wendy Huynh, The Man Sisters
This portrait of the Man sisters (Maya, Vic, Josie and Alexandra) whose youthful ambition I find inspiring and invigorating was photographed in the garden of their parent’s house in South East London. The sisters are half Chinese and half English and represent to me what England is today - a mix of culture, race and community.