We English : Simon Roberts

We English

Simon Roberts travelled across England in a motorhome between 2007 and 2008 for this portfolio of large-format tableaux photographs of the English at leisure. We English builds on his first major body of work, Motherland (2005), with the same themes of identity, memory and belonging resonating throughout. Photographing ordinary people engaged in diverse pastimes, Roberts aims to show a populace with a profound attachment to its local environment and homeland. He explores the notion that nationhood – that what it means to be English – is to be found on the surface of contemporary life, encapsulated by banal pastimes and everyday leisure activities. The resulting images are an intentionally lyrical rendering of a pastoral England, where Roberts finds beauty in the mundane and in the exploration of the relationship between people and place, and of our connections to the landscapes around us.

We English was published by Chris Boot Ltd (2009) and has been selected as one of the 30 most influential photobooks of the last decade (more). A major exhibition of the work was show at the National Media Museum, UK in 2010 and is currently on tour.

“We English, the title of Roberts’s engrossing exhibition of large-scale color photographs (and the related book) might lead you to expect gently satiric social studies in the style of Martin Parr. But the focus of the work is primarily landscape, and several of the images are broad, handsome vistas with only a few people scattered about the terrain. Even the photographs that include larger groups were taken from a distance – a perspective that echoes classical painting, although the subjects are decidedly contemporary.” Vince Aletti, The New Yorker, 2009

For more information about the project and touring exhibition schedule, visit the We English website/ blog here.

Installation shots

Downloads:

Book essay by Stephen Daniels: “The English Outdoors” (pdf)
In Conversation with Stephen Daniels, Ruth Kitchin and Simon Roberts (pdf)
National Media Museum/We English touring exhibition guidelines (pdf)
Contact sheet of photographic plates (pdf)
Reviews (pdf)
Title Skegness Beach, Lincolnshire, 12th August 2007
Title Camel Estuary, Padstow, Cornwall, 27th September 2007
Title South Downs Way, West Sussex, 8th October 2007
Title Heberdens Farm, Finchdean, Hampshire, 20th December 2007
Title Rushey Hill Caravan Park, Peacehaven, East Sussex, 21st December 2007
Title Fantasy Island, Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, 28th December 2007
Title Mad Maldon Mud Race, River Blackwater, Maldon, Essex, 30th December 2007
Title The Haxey Hood, Haxey, North Lincolnshire, 5th January 2008
Title Bank End Fishery, Finningley, South Yorkshire, 5th January 2008
Title Grantchester Meadows, Cambridgeshire, 23rd January 2008
Title South East Hertfordshire Bird-Watchers, Holkham, Norfolk, 17th February 2008
Title Holkham National Nature Reserve, Norfolk, 18th February 2008
Title Devil's Dyke, South Downs, East Sussex, 6th March 2008
Title Tandridge Golf Course, Oxted, Surrey, 2nd April 2008
Title Ladiesâ Day, Aintree Racecourse, Merseyside, 4th April 2008
Title St George's Day Pageant, Scarborough Castle, North Yorkshire, 26th April 2008
Title West Wittering Beach, Chichester, West Sussex, 3rd May 2008
Title Cirencester Park Polo Club, Gloucestershire, 10th May 2008
Title Cotswold Water Park, Shornecote, Gloucestershire, 11th May 2008
Title Keynes Country Park Beach, Shornecote, Gloucestershire, 11th May 2008
Title Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, 17th May 2008
Title Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, 17th May 2008
Title Salcombe Sands, Devon, 23rd May 2008
Title Woolacombe Bay, Devon, 24th May 2008
Title Westward Ho! Devon, 24th May 2008
Title Amerta Movement Workshop, Avebury Henge, Wiltshire, 2nd June 2008
Title Grange Park Opera, Northington Grange, Hampshire, 4th June 2008
Title Derby Day, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey, 7th June 2008
Title Paul Herringtonâs 50th Birthday, Grantchester, Cambridgeshire, 15th June 2008
Title Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, Nottinghamshire, 16th June 2008
Title Blackgang Chine Viewpoint, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, 23rd June 2008
Title River Thames, Oxford, 28th June 2008
Title Willen Lake, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, 29th June 2008
Title Delamere Forest Park, Cheshire, 13th July 2008
Title Chelford Car Boot, Moat Hall Farm, Marthall, Cheshire, 13th July 2008
Title Burrs Country Park Caravan Club, Bury, Greater Manchester, 22nd July 2008
Title Blackpool Promenade, Lancashire, 24th July 2008
Title Blackpool Beach #1, Lancashire, 25th July 2008
Title Blackpool Beach #2, Lancashire, 25th July 2008
Title South Pier, Blackpool, Lancashire, 26th July 2008
Title River Wharfe, Skipton, North Yorkshire, 27th July 2008
Title Bolton Abbey, Skipton, North Yorkshire, 27th July 2008
Title Gordale Scar Campsite, Malham, North Yorkshire, 28th July 2008
Title Stanage Edge, Hathersage, Derbyshire, 3rd August 2008
Title Lingmell Fell, Wasdale Valley, Cumbria, 22nd August 2008
Title Chatsworth House, Bakewell, Derbyshire, 7th August 2008
Title Whitehouse Allotments, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, 11th August 2008
Title Sunderland vs. Liverpool, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, 16th August 2008
Title River Lune, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, 17th August 2008
Title Lingmell Fell, Wasdale Valley, Cumbria, 22nd August 2008
Title Scafell Pike Summit, Wasdale Head, Cumbria, 22nd August 2008
Title Derwent Water, Keswick, Cumbria, 27th August 2008
Title Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Northumberland, 2nd September 2008
Title Dunstanburgh Castle, Embleton, Northumberland, 3rd September 2008
Title Aln Boat Club, Alnmouth, Northumberland, 7th September 2008
Title Maidstone Young Bird National Pigeon Race, Maidstone, Kent, 13th September 2008