England My England: A Photographer's Portrait

Chris Steele-Perkins

Book Overview

Who are the English? And what images spring to mind when you think of the English and England? Ask a tourist and they would probably say Big Ben, English 'bobbies', the London Eye or maybe even the Queen. Ask a Scot, Welshmen or Irishman and you may get a different answer. However, ask an Englishman (or woman) and you will probably get more intimate (and printable) answers ...mowing the lawn, going down the pub or maybe braving the beach on a frigid summer's day. Ask Chris Steele-Perkins and he'll have a multitude of answers and what's more, as an internationally acclaimed and award-winning Magnum photographer of 40 years standing he has the images to share.

In his new book, Chris presents a sweeping, unique record of what he thinks makes England truly English. From Sunday cricket matches to snoozes in a deckchair; intimate family portraits to carefree children at play; circus shows with performing bears to the wilder performers of a street carnival; and from Saturday night dancing to race riots. Each picture tells a story of time and place and many of the images collected will strike a chord or a memory in the viewer. These natural and authentic photographs are a personal selection of the best and most important of Chris's images that he has taken over 40 years of photographing in England. Some are drawn from books he has made on English themes, others from stories he has worked on, others from pictures of family and friends, from random events encountered. This book is an honest testament to this odd but magnificent country that is England, the England of the people.

About the Author

Chris Steele-Perkins is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning Magnum photographer whose assignments have taken him around the world. Born in Burma in 1947 he moved to England when he was two. His home country of England remains a constant source of inspiration. His books include The Teds (1979), Beirut: The Frontline Story (1983), The Pleasure Principle (1989), Afghanistan (2000), Tokyo Love Hello (2007) and Northern Exposures (2007).

Previous NU Press Books by this Author: Northern Exposures
Chris' Website: www.chrissteeleperkins.com

Reviews

"These are wonderful images, showing just how revealing the lives of ordinary people, doing day-to-day things can be. They are glimpses of a country in doubt, sometimes in pain, but full of an indomitable spirit."Michael Palin, comedian, actor, writer and television presenter.

"His unique style pours from every page."Amateur Photographer.

"Mixed up, happy, sad, memoryislandimage book, no.1."  Damon Albarn, singer-songwriter and record producer.

"Fantastically evocative and inspiring."Lee Hall, playwright and screenwriter.

"The photographs of Chris Steele-Perkins capture something peculiarly English, or peculiar in the English."Nicholas Blincoe, author, critic and screenwriter.

"A thought -provoking and emotional collection of images which capture the beauty, the hardships and the struggles of a by-gone era. They gave me faith that we will continue on our journey towards becoming a more tolerant, accepting and inclusive society."  Sandra Gregory, author of Forget You Had a Daughter.

"This marvellous book brings all the memories, the atmosphere and different episodes of my life racing back."Gerry Cottle, English Showman and owner of Wooky Hole.

"The controlled, steadily conventional shape of pictures is vital: viewpoints, diagonals, vanishing points, the choreography of limbs and the flattening of perspective make for faultlessly polished and often poetic pictures. These physics of his images are also informed by his knowledge of the family of eminent photographers who he admires. It is a touching, generous homage."David Lee, Ag Magazine.

"It captures the little triumphs and larger miseries of the lives of ordinary people - the poor and the upwardly mobile, the idle and the abandoned."Picture Book of the Week section, New Statesman Magazine.

“A journey through a life in photography where every page takes the viewer in a new direction”  Phil Coomes, BBC News Website.

“The shots from the 70s reminded me of growing up, visiting my grandparents in London and holidays at Butlins. Happy days.”  Me And My Big Mouth.

“The book contains some strong and touching images, and is very good on some key points in the difficult evolution of a multicultural nation.”  British Journal of Photography.

“Looking at these beautifully composed images of the deranged, the drunk and dispossessed, you get the feeling that Steele-Perkins’s England is not a particularly happy place. But his more contemplative pictures, which reference Japanese notions of appreciating and depicting nature (he spends a lot of time in Japan), indicate the upside: when he photographs a quiet family barbeque, a branch bursting with cherry blossom or breathtaking assemblage of summer party lights, you understand why he continues to call England his.”  Time Out London.

“Why I like this book so much I think is that it covers pretty much the time I’ve been alive as result it seems that on every page there is a memory hiding.”  Cathedrals of Sound.

"Documentary approach that shows the English at work and at play over the last four decades. By turns gritty and evocative, it is a book one imagines that Orwell would have liked very much."The Guardian’s Photobooks of the Year 2009. Sean O’Hagan.

"Continuing a reputation for taking us on a journey through the countries that have shaped his life. A perspective that reflects our feelings of our own Englishness" Foto8, The 2009 List.

“This collection shows that Steele-Perkins is one of the major documenters of English life in the last forty years.  His work from the 1970s may be his most enduring contribution, but his much of his recent work is also very impressive.  This well-produced book will be of great interest to readers who follow photography of modern social life.”  Metapsychology Online Reviews.

"Steele-Perkins is good at little poignancies, the tell-tale details that give the game away, that point out our common fallibilities. He is rarely cruel or heartlessly cynical. There's a hint of empathy, a air of redeeming pathos behind the most unglamorous visions."  The Guardian Guide.

"These natural and authentic photographs are a personal selection of some of the best and most important of Steele-Perkins' images."  Magnum Photos.

"It is an honest view of the complexities of society in an age when themed photo-essays often replace complexity with message." Luminous Lint.

Chris Steele-Perkins/England, My England - The Guardian