Photo exhibition of a generation
Multi-generational families celebrated on billboards for 2022 Festival
FROM twin boys just seven days old to a 102-year-old great grandfather, the many faces of Birmingham and Black Country families are being put on display throughout the region.
‘Generations’ is a ground-breaking photography project from Julian Germain, showcasing four and even five generations of families on 30 billboards, poster and banner sites across Birmingham and the Black Country including at New Street Station and The New Art Gallery in Walsall, until September.
It is part of Birmingham 2022 Festival, the six-month long celebration of creativity around the Commonwealth
Games. Mr Germain said: “My hope is that the work explores universal human themes and offers an authentic and thought-provoking portrait of a fascinating and diverse region.
“More than 100 families responded to the call-out, but many couldn’t take part because of the difficulties of trying to get all the family members together at the same time in the same place, when I could visit as well – and Covid wreaked havoc on some weekends.
“A four-generation family isn’t that uncommon as we have more people living longer, but the project only has three families of five generations. One ranges between John Evans, 84, and his great great granddaughter Darcie Mae, just three weeks old.
“I chose one person from each generation to photograph because I’m trying to make a concentrated image of family.
“I set up the pictures so that as clearly as possible, the viewer can start to make associations between the different generations.
“I only broke my rule twice – one was with twin boys, Elliot and Harrison Price, who were just seven days old. I photographed them with their father, grandfather and 81-year-old great grandfather Colin. It was such an exceptional situation and they are also the only all-male group in the series.
“The other one that features two people from the same generation is the Haughtons. You can see Linda’s husband Winston reflected in the mirror. The pictures are relatable to every single one of us, as we all have parents and grandparents. It makes us think about where we come from and where we’re going. The pictures show very clearly how time affects us. At one end of the picture you have someone who is at the start of the cycle of life and at the other end you have people who have lived long lives.
“You might start thinking about the effects of ageing and about the world that the kids will be growing up in.
‘‘As soon as a photograph is made, it’s rooted in the past, so I like to make work that encourages us to think about the future.
‘‘It also makes you think about what family means to us. It’s a loving, caring but at times complicated thing.”