The 80s: Photographing Britain: An Ambitious Visual Chronicle of a Nation Divided

At its best, Photographing Britain is an informative and deeply engaging exhibition. The first half is structured thematically to guide visitors through key socio-political issues of the era, with a focus on political resistance and activism.

The opening room is dedicated to protest photography, featuring powerful images from events such as the Grunwick strike, the miners’ strike, and demonstrations against Section 28. The representation of Black and Asian activists is a vital part of the exhibition’s exploration of resistance. Photographs of the Grunwick dispute depict South Asian women leading the fight for workers’ rights, countering mainstream narratives that often excluded women of colour from discussions of British labour history. Similarly, the anti-racist movements of the late 1970s and 1980s, such as the Battle of Lewisham in 1977 and the rise of Rock Against Racism (RAR), are powerfully documented. Syd Shelton’s images of RAR illustrate how music became a rallying point for anti-fascist activism, with a shot of The Clash performing before thousands in an anti-racist solidarity concert.

In a later room, the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp is represented, showcasing the sustained activism of women protesting against nuclear weapons. The photographs highlight the role women played in political activism in 1980s Britain, and showcasing the communal strength and endurance of the women who lived in the encampment for years. Their resistance challenged traditional gender roles, making their activism a landmark moment in feminist history. A brilliant way to open the exhibition, these photographs immerse the viewer in the emotions of defiance and solidarity that defined the period.

A standout section of the exhibition is its focus on Black representation in photography. For much of history, the photographic image has been a tool of power, often used to stereotype and dehumanise Black individuals. The photographers featured here challenge that legacy, using self-portraiture and community-based photography to reclaim agency over their own representation. Photographers such as Mumtaz Karimjee confront the objectification of Black and South Asian women in mainstream media, using photography as a political tool to challenge imposed narratives of ‘otherness.’

The exhibition also showcases the work of collectives and publications that played a crucial role in shaping Black representation. The British Black Arts Movement, which emerged in the 1980s as a radical response to institutional exclusion, used photography alongside other media to interrogate race, class, and gender. Vanley Burke’s photography of everyday life in Britain’s Black communities offers an alternative to media portrayals that often focused solely on crime, poverty, or protest. His images of families, social gatherings, and quiet moments of resilience insist on the richness and normalcy of Black life, countering the idea that Black communities only existed in relation to struggle.

A section of Photographing Britain I particularly enjoyed was the room titled The Cost of Living. This room examines the socio-political landscape of 1980s Britain and the widening class disparities under Margaret Thatcher’s leadership. A period marked by rapid deindustrialisation, privatisation, and economic restructuring, these policies had a profound impact on working-class communities, leading to mass unemployment, urban decline, and social unrest, while simultaneously fostering a new class of affluent professionals who were prioritised under the era’s free-market ideology.

The exhibition succeeds in showcasing the breadth of British photography at the time, with colour images that challenge the perception of photography as a black-and-white medium. The inclusion of colour images captures both the vibrancy and decay of Britain’s urban and rural landscapes. The works by photographers such as Paul Graham and Martin Parr contrast starkly, with images of hardship in DHSS waiting rooms juxtaposed against saturated scenes of British seaside towns. This thematic approach allows for a nuanced understanding of the class divides and artistic innovation that shaped Britain in the 1980s.

Despite its strengths, the exhibition loses momentum in its second half. Its structure becomes looser, with certain themes reappearing in a way that feels arbitrary rather than expansive. The exhibition's decision to encompass not just the 1980s but also the late 1970s and early 1990s results in a somewhat unfocused narrative. While it is true that historical periods do not always fit neatly into decades, the exhibition’s extended timeline raises questions about its intent. Why stretch the definition of the 1980s so far while still leaving out crucial subcultures such as acid house music, punk, and goth? The omission of such movements feels like a significant gap in an exhibition that has the space to explore Britain’s cultural history in depth.

Furthermore, a visually striking yet conceptually inconsistent section of the exhibition is its focus on landscapes. The photography here is undeniably beautiful and presents an interesting perspective of Britain’s changing urban and rural environments, but the section itself feels somewhat arbitrary in its placement. The images range from scenes of industrial decline to solitary coastal views, yet the lack of a clear narrative thread leaves this portion feeling detached from the broader social themes explored elsewhere. While the selection succeeds in demonstrating how photographers of the era used landscapes to reflect broader societal issues, its position in the portrait-heavy exhibition felt disjointed. The sheer volume of images in Photographing Britain felt overwhelming, and a refined collection would make for a more impactful experience.

The 80s: Photographing Britain is an exhibition that is as ambitious as the decade it seeks to capture. It offers an immersive exploration of activism, identity, and artistic experimentation, with its strongest moments found in its exploration of underrepresented voices. For those interested in photography’s role in shaping history, this exhibition is an essential visit that will challenge the viewer to reconsider the visual legacy of a turbulent and transformative period in British history.