Exemplaire Signé.
The British Isles est un récit de treize ans de vie à travers le Royaume-Uni, vu à travers l’objectif de Jamie Hawkesworth. Dans cette séquence tentaculaire de portraits et de paysages, Hawkesworth examine les personnages et les terrains qui composent le tissu quotidien de son pays d’origine : écoliers et commerçants, marchés et domaines, prêtres et professionnels, villes et chantiers.
Ces photographies tracent une histoire alternative de cette période mouvementée de l’histoire britannique ; une période ponctuée d’austérité, de référendums, de célébrations et de conflits. Et pourtant, autant qu’un document historique, ce livre est un exercice de curiosité, présentant un portrait radicalement démocratisant du Royaume-Uni dans lequel individus, bâtiments et scènes naturelles sont imprégnés de l’œil généreux et digne de Hawkesworth.
“If The British Isles is an index of a modern, multicultural Britain in all its rich otherness, it is also a portrait of a place that is definably British in its myriad telltale social signifiers, from fish and chips to seaside fairgrounds, train platforms to corner shops.” – The Observer
“The British Isles is a celebration of people and place, but also a testament to the power of photography and where it can lead both the persons in front and behind the lens.”– It’s Nice That
“The British Isles is a poignant reflection of Hawkesworth’s knack for seeking out the humanity of his subjects with tenderness and warmth … despite the fractious place in which the British Isles currently finds itself, Hawkesworth’s photographs speak volumes about the humanity that binds us together as strangers in a shared land.” – British Journal of Photography
The British Isles is an account of thirteen years of life across the United Kingdom, as seen through the lens of Jamie Hawkesworth. In this sprawling sequence of portraits and landscapes, Hawkesworth surveys the characters and terrains that make up the everyday fabric of his home country: schoolchildren and shopworkers, markets and estates, priests and professionals, cities and construction sites.
These photographs chart an alternative history of this eventful period of British history; a period punctuated by austerity, referenda, celebration, and conflict. And yet as much as a historical document this book is an exercise in curiosity, presenting a radically democratising portrait of the United Kingdom in which individuals, buildings and natural scenes are imbued with Hawkesworth’s generous and dignifying eye.
