Book Review: Another Country: British Documentary Photography Since 1945
Page 197, Elaine Constantine, Tea Dance, 2001, Photo credit: © Elaine Constantine
Written by Amanda Karmolinski
Photo Edited by Tania Flores
Copy Edited by Erin Pedigo
Another Country: British Documentary Photography Since 1945 by Gerry Badger (with Martin Parr) (Thames & Hudson, January 2022) captures the social and cultural history of Britain from the end of World War II up to the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Five chapters present selected images that represent major photographers, publications, and galleries of each highlighted era. This raw, engaging photo documentary of British society from black-and-white wartime photos to the start of the digital age presents each era through the eyes of those who lived then—Britain is one nation, enduring continual changes. Each chapter begins with commentary on the time period and the photos it includes. The reader’s experience is almost entirely visual because the text commentary throughout the book is spare.
Page 216, Chris Killip, Youth on a Wall, Jarrow, Tyneside, 1976 Photo credit: © Chris Killip. All Rights Reserved
The first chapter, one of the most emotionally touching, is “End of Empire: The Second World War and After.” This chapter includes photos that capture ordinary moments during this tumultuous era of conflict. The photos examine the impact the Second World War wrought on British society. One of the most striking is Jane Brown’s photograph Parents’ Day, Eton College (1952). At first glance it appears to just be a snapshot of a man standing next to a girl, who is sitting in the street with her head bowed. Why is the girl so downcast? The book’s commentary speculates the “apparent arrogance of the man” upset the girl, but readers may wonder about any deeper stories, here. Brown’s camera caught a moment of powerful, stark emotion. The third chapter, “Politics and Photography: Documentary and Beyond,” chronicles the 1970s. This section’s commentary posits the notion the ’70s held the most social change of any
Page 187, Martin Parr, New Brighton, Merseyside, from The Last Resort, 1983– 86,
Photo credit: Magnum Photos. © Martin Parr
postwar decade. One of the first images here is by photographer Sirrka-Liisa Konttinen, Children with Collected Junk near Byker Bridge, Byker (1971). They sit among remnants of someone’s once cherished possessions. Some of the children are sitting in what appears to be a baby’s bassinet. A discarded television set sits in the background. What is left of a home has become a sort of jetsam, wreckage of a changing, postwar society. The last chapter, “New Millennium: Photography and Digital Culture,” brings the reader to today, continuing the theme of inevitable social change. This ending section highlights Britain’s transformation after the Covid-19 pandemic; although it is not a war, it changed the
Page 288, Chloe Dewe Mathews Southend, 3.30pm, from Thames Log, 2013-18 Photo credit: © Chloe Dewe Mathews Photo credit: © Dougie Wallace
world overnight. The photographers here strive to capture life ‘before.’ Many of the photos show people walking freely in the streets, smiling, laughing, hugging. Sian Davey captures this close contact in the image Billy Maude’s Birthday, Wilderness, Summer (2018). We see nine friends lying underneath a tree, arms around one another. They are happy and smiling, without a care in the world. Their moment of community is frozen in a pre-pandemic era; when this photo was taken, there was no idea illness would come.
Page 254, lower, Alice Mann, Victoria Olanrewaju, from (Always) Wear Your Best on a Sunday, 2014–16, Photo credit: Courtesy of the artist and Afronova Gallery
With each chapter and era Badger chronicles decades of change. Readers of the book feel as though they are walking through Britain from nearly eighty years ago to today. To view more of this book visit here.
