Liz Hingley

Photographer
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Location: Shanghai
Nationality: British
Biography:   Liz Hingley is a British photographer, anthropologist and member of Agence Vu. She holds a first class BA in Photography from Brighton University and an MSc in Social Anthropology with distinction from University College London. Her work... MORE
Public Story
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Copyright Liz Hingley 2024
Updated Dec 2012

For 3.9 million children across the UK, severe poverty is a fact of life.[1] During a brief assignment sponsored by the charity Save the Children I became aware of the need to provide a personal and human interpretation of such overwhelming statistics. In the Autumn of 2010 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.

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.

 My photographs focus on the family 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. Over two years of sharing the stories of family life I developed a more subtle visual language which aims 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.

Gary, the eldest son was the first in the family to ever go to University. After studying animation he set up his own business company from the bedroom, which he shares with his two other brothers. Michelle of 21, was the first to leave the family home in 2011 when she met Alex in the local playground and fell in love. Alex was born in the Congo as the youngest of nine children and studies film at Wolverhampton University. Despite attending school to the age of 17 Michelle is still unable to read and write. She enjoys making videos with Alex’s film camera and baking cakes. Their son Di Bronchi Jones Bondele was born on the 11th of August 2012.

 


[1] Save the Children’s latest research findings, commissioned from the New Policy Institute Feb 2011. 

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