This display brings together works from the 1960s and 1970s by eight photographers who documented Black communities in London: Colin Jones, Raphael Albert, Bandele ‘Tex’ Ajetunmobi, James Barnor, Neil Kenlock, Dennis Morris, Syd Shelton and Al Vandenberg.
The photographs reveal the many and varied experiences of individuals who travelled from the Caribbean region and West Africa to live in London, from everyday family life to political engagement. They show people as they respond to, react against and move beyond the racial tension and exclusion that were part of life for Black communities in the British capital. The title of the display, ‘Stan Firm inna Inglan’, is taken from the poem It Dread inna Inglan by Linton Kwesi Johnson, who in the 1970s gave a voice and poetic form to the Afro-Caribbean diaspora and its resistance in the face of racism. The poem expresses in Jamaican patois (creole) the resolve of African, Asian and Caribbean immigrants to ‘stand firm in England’, asserting the determination of Black British communities to remain in Britain and declare it as their rightful home.
All works in the display have been gifted to the Tate collection and form part of the Eric and Louise Franck London Collection, an important collection of photography which was assembled over more than 20 years.
COLIN JONES The Black House
Born in a working-class family in East London in 1936, Colin Jones went on to dance for the English Royal Ballet before taking up photography professionally. The photographs on display here are part of the series The Black House 1973-76. They document a housing project funded by Islington council which aimed to provide support for vulnerable young people. The series began as a Sunday Times Magazine commission and turned into an independent project developed over many visits. Jones's photographs are a candid record of everday life in the house, a community he was not part of but which he grew close to, developing long-lasting friendships with some of its residents.
Michael Hoppen Gallery represents Colin Jones.
Enquire today about Colin's work:
gallery@michaelhoppengallery.com
