Blog Post for Assessment

Assignment one Two Sides of the Same Coin

On 23rd June 2016, the Nation finally settled the question that had been rumbling under the surface of British politics for generations. Should we remain in the European Union or leave and end the 40 year relationship to go it alone?

Of the 52% of the public who voted to leave the EU many thought it would be concluded by now. Unfortunately, this was not the case, three years and three Prime Ministers later, deep into the departure process, we’re still here,  stuck in the quagmire of bureaucracy, still weighing up the pros and cons of Brexit and what that means for Britain.

There are many pros and cons to both sides, too many to comprehensively cover here. From Sovereignty to trade deals, immigration to investments, the debate rages on. How do you condense such a complex and heterogeneous subject into photographs?

In this set of images, I wanted to portray an embodiment of each side of the debate. On one side, we have Boris Johnson, at the forefront of the Brexit campaign, then Home Secretary and now Prime Minister. His name is synonymous with Brexit and now leads the country towards the latest deadline of the 31st of October. Here is a man who feels he was born to be the Prime Minister, a man that now guides the UK from the EU, he has worked himself to the highest position on the inside of government to see that happen. He is an unmistakable character that fills a room with his presence and charms them with his razor wit and indubitable sense of humour. The lines are blurred between where the persona ends and the person starts with Boris Johnson, he has been building his public image for a long time. Will he come to regret this in the future? How many Prime Ministers have the public called so readily by their first name?

On the other side of the argument, you have Steven Bray, better known as Stop Brexit Man. Since September 2017 Steve Bray has braved all weathers to mount his ‘Stand of Defiance European Movement’ (SODEM) Protest outside parliament and the cabinet office, to keep the remain option top of everyone’s mind. Many MP’s, peers, activists and members of the public have said how vital the SODEM protest is to the Remain cause. He is loud, colourful, with a wry sense of humour. Steve’s alter ego is easier to define, his persona has to be more hard hitting, he is literally on the outside of the debate, reacting in the only way he knows how, loudly. Steve has been a constant thorn in the side of any of the establishment trying to cut remain out of the public arena.

When I originally submitted this set of images, I had inadvertently attached text to the Prime Minster photos. As my tutor pointed out, this had an unexpected impact on the images, it somehow gave that side of the story more credibility. This line of research leads me to Victor Burgins UK 76 (1976). 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum, marked the 40th anniversary of his groundbreaking, UK 76 exhibition. Burgins’ highly theoretical style of writing coupled with his subtle, social documentary style photography has the ability to portray strong messages in his art. One photograph depicts a woman at a bus stop with the same disinterested glance that so interested Walker Evans in his Subway series (1938–41) and Cindy Sherman in her Bus Riders (1976/2000). The text almost watches over the scene, adding drama to what is an image of the daily grind.

As discussed with my tutor “It reflects the similarly reductive nature of an ‘in/out’ referendum and the continued insistence in sections of the media and public debate to render this complex issue in solely binary terms. This white middle aged bloke or this white middle aged bloke? It points towards the difficulties faced by photography in covering complex issues.” This is the continuing struggle of the photographer, trying to tell complex stories in 1/250th of a second.

Boris Johnson and Steven Bray, polar opposites in background and philosophies, one an Eton educated career politician, the other a small-scale businessman from Wales. Despite their differences there are clear similarities between the two men, they are both white and middle aged, from the ‘Boomer’ generation. Both men striving for something they passionately believe in. Maybe in different circumstances they could even be friends, but for now they will stay two sides of the same coin.