Back to the Village
Fox, Anna (2014) Back to the Village. [Exhibition/show, Photography]
Back to the Village (1999 – 2008) is a new documentary series on the traditional festivals of the rural villages of the county of Hampshire in southern England. In 1999, after living in London, the photographer moved to Selborne, the small village near to where she had grown up.
Inspired by Benjamin Stone's photographs depicting customs and festivals across England in the 1900s, Anna Fox made a collection of portraits during events such as Nativity celebrations, Halloween costume parties and Guy Fawkes Night bonfires, as well as local traditions such as the annual pram race.
The villagers are in costumes and look directly at the lens, sometimes through their masks.
These images « capture » the participants in a resigned, joyless pause, sometimes with embarrassment, betraying the discomfort caused by the eruption of the festive into everyday life, like something subversive.
This project is shot from 1999 – 2008 and a few images from the series were shown in the DB prize in 2010. 2014 was its first showing as a whole body of work.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7728-4660
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