‘If I had the money I would make our house nice and sparkly’ Maria (13)
‘I will move out in the end but I don’t know how or when’ Dave (24)
‘We love this house, we love being together, this is our memories’ Christine (16)
‘The government don’t realise we have no money to give them’ Lyn (44)
1.6 million children across the UK live their daily lives in severe poverty (30%). This is more than in most other European countries. But Western poverty is often difficult to understand and to communicate visually in comparison to images of majority world poverty.
During a brief assignment sponsored by the charity Save the Children I became aware of the need to highlight disadvantaged adolescent lives and provide a personal and human interpretation of the overwhelming – and often dry and incomprehensible – statistics.
Five months ago I began working with the Jones family – two parents and seven children- in order to mutually create a body of work, which speaks about the meaning – and the experience – of genuine deprivation within the context of a wealthy country. As a young person myself it has been a transformative relationship of mutual learning and sharing.
The Jones family lives in a three-bedroom council house in the industrial city of Wolverhampton, UK. This is the first house that the family has lived in for three generations; the mother and father were brought up in caravans, as were their parents. The house is precious to the family and holds many memories for them, to the point that despite its extremely limited size they refuse to move into larger council accommodation. The three boys and four girls have high aspirations for their future but they are aware it will be financially difficult for them to leave the family home.
This visual portrayal focuses on the Jones’s house to unravel the meanings embedded in the material qualities of the environment; the decoration and objects they cherish, as well as the everyday rituals, practices and interactions in which each family member finds personal expression and a sense of autonomy. I have chosen to use medium format film, ambient lighting and my waistlevel camera, which does not intrude on our direct engagement for a more emotional and sincere approach. I aim to transcend the surface impression of bare floorboards and peeling wallpaper in order to communicate this family’s unique culture and each individual character, their genuine love and compassion towards each other and resilience against deprivation. The photographs seek to convey with respect and dignity their attitudes, desires and values. They depict the house as a centre of physical and emotional security, a place of freedom, of imagination and a means to escape a world that marginalises and stigmatises. This is a place that they emotionally cannot leave despite the fact it is damaging their health and restricting their academic and social development.
Liz Hingley
