DISAPPEARING BRITAIN // Zed Nelson

(Ship Builders, Boxers, World War II Veterans, Cornish Fisherman, Yorkshire Miners, Foxhunters)

Zed Nelson’s long-term project, updated this year, broadens this definitive body of work on Britain’s disappearing tribes:

Summary: Disappearing Britain is a historical project that focuses on people or ways of life that are basically becoming extinct. From the coal-miners in Yorkshire, whose industry was decimated in a series of savage pit closures during government privatisation, to the Cornish fishermen whose livelihoods are disappearing along with the depleted fish stocks. From the Duke of Beaufort fox hunters, an anachronistic group of aristocrats who demand their right to hunt despite growing public condemnation of the blood sport, to the WWII veterans who fought in a war that took place 56 years ago. These stories are not just about fading traditions, but also a compass to political, environmental and moral change.

Shipbuilders

Few industries attest to the decline of Britain's political and economic power as does the near disappearance of British shipbulding. On the eve of the First World War, British shipbuilding produced more than the rest of the world combined. But, by the 1980s, the industry that had dominated world markets and underpinned British maritime power accounted for less than 1 percent of total world output.

Boxers

The sport of boxing came under threat some years ago after a series of deaths and brain injuries. The sport has since implemented various safety measures, only to be faced with a new reason for extinction – the growing popularity of a rival martial art, cage fighting. Major world championship boxing prize fights still attract excitement, but the professional matches held across the country face dwindling audiences and an increasing struggle to survive.

World War II Veterans

I photographed the World War II veterans as they assembled in Hyde Park, London, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, on ‘VE day’.

They are celebrated as heroes, but they are also victims. They speak of camaraderie, and a belief that they took part in a just and necessary war. But just below the surface, beneath the pride, pomp and ceremony, lies a reservoir of pain. Many spoke reluctantly of painful memories, of fear and death. One man recounted his experience of being bombed by his own air force. Another broke down in tears remembering the day his best friend drowned under the weight of his own equipment as he waded ashore on the D-Day landings.

These men and women fought in a war of great historical importance, and now, 56 years later, there are fewer and fewer surviving. With them goes the knowledge of what they experienced.

 

Cornish Fisherman

I photographed the fishermen of Newlyn Harbour in an old wooden hut, as they came off their boats returning from ten days at sea hunting tuna in the Bay of Biscay.

Frustrated by fishing quota’s limiting their catches, superior foreign boats fishing their traditional waters, and severely diminishing fish stocks, the fishermen of Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall, were unhappy. “We are being forced out of existence by our own government and their policies. It's becoming impossible for us to survive."

 

Yorkshire Miners

I photographed the miners of Maltby Colliery in Yorkshire as they came off a ten-hour shift. Their pit was a hit-list for closure – one of 30 pits due to be shut down by Thatcher’s conservative government. Their idea was mass privatisation or closure of public companies, and the coal industry was a prime target. Coal could be imported more cheaply from abroad, the government told us. Many of the coal-miners had worked in the pits all their life, as had their fathers and grandfathers. As coal miners were made redundant, unemployment often followed.

 

Foxhunters

‘The English country gentleman galloping after a fox - The unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable”. Oscar Wilde.

The British tradition of fox hunting is, like most blood sports, increasingly difficult to defend in modern society. Viewed by many as an elitist and cruel past time for the rich, fox-hunting, like bull-fighting, evokes a powerful emotional response from both its detractors and its supporters, and has become a major political issue.

I was granted unusual access to The Royal Beaufort Hunt, close to Prince Charles’ country home at Highgrove. The Beaufort Hunt is attended by Prince Charles and his sons Prince William and Harry.

Those against fox hunting portray it as as a cruel, pointless, elitist pastime. Fox-hunters claim that it is a tradition that holds communities together and creates jobs. As the battle became increasingly heated, a Parliamentary ban under the Labout government banned fox-hunting with a pack of hounds. The law allows hunting on horseback to continue for the time being, but only with a single dog. The hunters have become the hunted, but they are refusing to go down without a fight.

Links
Ship Builders in the INSTITUTE archive
Boxers in the INSTITUTE archive
World War II Veterans in the INSTITUTE archive
Cornish Fisherman in the INSTITUTE archive
Yorkshire Miners in the INSTITUTE archive
Foxhunters in the INSTITUTE archive

Zed Nelson's Bio
Zed Nelson's Features
Zed Nelson in the News
INSTITUTE Features

If you are interested in this feature or to commission London based Zed do not hesitate to contact Matt Shonfeld - matt@instituteartistmanagement.com Tel: +44 1225-462-968

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