Invisible Britain
Portraits of Hope and Resilience
Featuring the work of many different award-winning and accomplished documentary photographers, Invisible Britain is a hard-hitting look at life in modern Britain.
Against a backdrop of Brexit, austerity and a country arguably ever more divided, these are the tales of those traditionally marginalised by the mainstream media, neglected by politicians and ignored by society. In fact, it’s a shame a book like this needed to be made in the first place.
The brainchild of filmmaker Paul Sng, it also features a foreword by the actor and political activist Michael Sheen. It is, as is so often the case these days, the result of a successful crowdfunding campaign. Writing in the book, Sng says, ‘I started to think about how a book of portraits and stories might serve as a vehicle for people whose lives have been blighted by government failures and neglect to have their say. The idea was developed to focus on people affected by social issues including austerity, deindustrialisation, housing, welfare cuts, and the rise in nationalism and xenophobia.
Needless to say, Invisible Britain is not an easy read. Nor should it be – what it gives the reader is an important look at a life that we’d often rather not think about. The work of the photographers in this book highlights some of the very best contemporary documentary photographers working in Britain today. As such, each of the portraits is sensitively shot, never turning the subject into ‘poverty porn’. The book’s subtitle Portraits of Hope and Resilience does a perfect job of summing the work up.
If you have any interest in documentary photography, the state of the nation, or indeed the way other human beings live their lives, Invisible Britain cannot be recommended highly enough.
You can order the book with a 20% discount at policy.bristoluniversitypress. co.uk/invisible-britain. ★★★★★ Amy Davies