The 1980s was a pivotal decade for photography.聽The 80s: Photographing Britain聽brings together nearly 350 images and archive materials from the period. The exhibition explores how photographers used the camera to respond to seismic social, political and economic shifts. The election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in 1979 ushered in an era that saw the miners strikes, the AIDS epidemic and technological advancement which paved the way for the digital age.聽
The show, the UK鈥檚 largest survey dedicated to looking at the development of photography, considers how the medium became a tool for social representation and artistic expression. The 1980s was a significant and highly creative period for photography. There are over 70 lens-based artists and collectives featured, spotlighting a generation who engaged with new ideas of photographic practice, from well-known names to those whose work is only now being recognised, including Maud Sulter, Mumtaz Karimjee and Mitra Tabrizian. Sulter is known for capturing the lives of Black people in Europe, Karimjee documented the daily life of women in China and the Bangladeshi communities of Whitechapel and Tabrizian鈥檚 films consider themes of urbanity, political events and class-divisions. Each artist worked prolifically during the 1980s, but have only recently gained the traction they rightly deserve.聽
The 80s聽introduces Thatcher鈥檚 Britain through documentary photography illustrating some of the tumultuous political events of the decade. History is brought to life with powerful images of the miners鈥 strikes by John Harris and Brenda Prince; anti-racism demonstrations by Syd Shelton and Paul Trevor; images of Greenham Common by Format Photographers and projects responding to the conflict in Northern Ireland by Paul Seawright and Willie Doherty. Seawright said of his iconic image depicting a whitewashed union jack mural in Belfast: 鈥淚 wanted to capture the idea of division, the way two completely conflicting accounts of our history 鈥 from the Troubles to where we are now 鈥 can exist side by side.鈥
John Davies鈥 post-industrial landscapes and Tish Murtha鈥檚 portraits of youth unemployment in Newcastle are key pieces. The 2023 film聽Tish聽by Paul Sng tells her life story, bringing her work to contemporary audiences. She was recording the effects of the decline of traditional industries such as coal mining, shipbuilding and steel manufacturing, which had historically been major sources of employment in the region. At its peak in 1986, unemployment in the North East reached around 19.5% significantly higher than the national average of 11.9% during that time.聽
Anna Fox鈥檚 images of corporate excess, Paul Graham鈥檚 observations of social security offices and Martin Parr鈥檚 absurdist depictions of Middle England, are displayed alongside Mark茅ta Luska膷ov谩 and Don McCullin鈥檚 portraits of London鈥檚 disappearing East End and Chris Killip鈥檚 transient 鈥渟ea-coalers鈥 in Northumberland. They tell the story of a decade with two sides, one of economic boom, the other of dire poverty. In the seminal photobook聽In Flagrante聽(1988) Killip said: 鈥淚 wanted to record people鈥檚 lives because I valued them. I wanted them to be remembered. If you take a photograph of someone they are immortalised, they鈥檙e there forever. For me that was important, that you鈥檙e acknowledging people鈥檚 lives, and also contextualising people鈥檚 lives.鈥 The publication documented the real lives of communities reeling from the effects of deindustrialisation.聽
The exhibition explores important developments from technical advancements in colour photography to the impact of cultural theory by scholars like Stuart Hall and Victor Burgin. Influential publications like Ten.8 and Camerawork offered a platform for new debates about photography to emerge. Back in 2001, Stuart Hall said in聽Different: A Historical Context for Contemporary聽Photography: “Photography is not a neutral or transparent means of representation. It always carries the weight of interpretation and cultural meaning.” Hall saw photography as a medium that constructs, rather than merely reflects, reality, emphasising its role in shaping social and cultural narratives.
Photography is a compelling tool for representation and creators like Roy Mehta, Zak Ov茅 and Vanley Burke, portray their multicultural communities, offering a voice to the people around them. Mehta documented the streets, homes, pubs and bars of Brent in northwest London. In 1991, when Mehta was mid-way through his five-year project, 45% of the area鈥檚 population identified as minority ethnic. He said: 鈥淧eople ask me how I was able to walk into all these different communities, but I never thought about it like that. To me it was all one community.鈥澛
Lens-based artists like Roshini Kempadoo, Sutapa Biswas and Al-An deSouza experimented with images to think about diasporic identities, and the likes of Joy Gregory and Maxine Walker who employ self-portraiture to celebrate ideas of Black beauty and femininity. The work of these artists broke new ground, paving the way for practitioners like Maryam Wahid, Mahtab Hussain and聽Adama Jalloh, who are making mainstream work that is accessing the masses. Wahid鈥檚 work explores her heritage and culture through household and family experiences, whilst Hussain challenges dominant concepts of multiculturalism. Jalloh鈥檚 documentary and portrait photography often focuses on the Black communities in London, showcasing the diversity and vibrancy of the city鈥檚 cultural landscape. In their work, it is easy to see the traces of the pioneering artists who came before them.聽
Against the backdrop of Section 28, a law that prevented the teaching of homosexuality in school, and the AIDS epidemic, photographers also employed the camera to assert the presence and visibility of the LGBTQ+ community. Tessa Boffin subversively reimagines literary characters as lesbians, whilst Sunil Gupta鈥檚聽Pretended鈥 Family Relationships聽(1988), juxtaposes portraits of queer couples with the legislative wording of Section 28. For some, their work reclaimed sex-positivity during a period of fear. The exhibition spotlights photographers Ajamu X, Lyle Ashton Harris and Rotimi Fani-Kayode who each centre Black queer experiences and contest stereotypes through powerful nude studies and intimate portraits. Fani-Kayode said: 鈥淚 make my photos homosexual on purpose.鈥 The images were an active defiance of the prejudices and discriminations of the time.聽
The exhibition closes with a series of works that celebrate countercultural movements throughout the 1980s, such as Ingrid Pollard and Franklyn Rodgers鈥檚 energetic documentation of underground performances and club culture. The show spotlights the emergence of聽i-D聽magazine and its impact on a new generation of photographers like Wolfgang Tillmans and Jason Evans. These artists pioneered a cutting-edge style of fashion photography inspired by an alternative and exciting wave of youth culture, reflective of a new vision of Britain at the dawn of the 1990s.
The 80s: Photographing Britain聽is a behemoth. The decade was a transformative period for photography in Britain, capturing a nation undergoing profound social, political and economic upheavals. The exhibition presents nearly 350 images and archival materials that reflect this dynamic era. It鈥檚 nearly 40 years since 1985 and the world and how we take pictures has changed considerably. This blockbuster show is a must-attend this winter.聽
The 80s: Photographing Britain is at Tate Britain until 5 May 2025:
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
David Hoffman, Nidge & Laurence Kissing, 1990 漏 David Hoffman.
Chris Killip,’Critch’ and Sean,1982. Tate 漏 Chris Killip.
Paul Trevor, Outside police station, Bethnal Green Road, London E2, 17 July 1978. Sit down protest against police racism,1978 漏 Paul Trevor.
Syd Shelton,聽Darcus Howe addressing the anti-racist demonstrators, Lewisham, 13 August 1977. Dated 1977, printed 2020. Tate: Presented by the artist 2021 漏 Syd Shelton.
Zak Ov茅, Underground Classic (John Taylor), 1986. 漏 Zak Ov茅.
