© Brent Jones

Brent Jones (1963) is a British-born, Dorset-based photographer. His work is primarily centred around the cultural and historic relationship between people and place. Inspired by both the built and natural environment his work is an exploration of human behaviour within a cultural and political context. The work produces large scale images rich in detail and meaning. In an earlier life Brent represented Great Britain at both cross country and marathon running and this has contributed to his subsequent interest in the landscape. Having originally completed an HND in Photography at Bournemouth & Poole college of Art & Design he has now been a photographer for over 30 years and has produced several bodies of documentary work which have resulted in various exhibitions.

I was brought up in the late sixties in the village of Fawley and spent my childhood on the south coast of England, sinking into oily mud, picking my way across sharp shingle and rock pooling . It was with these childhood memories that I returned to the seaside to discover how it is changing economically, socially, and culturally.

England-on-Sea is drawn from a nationwide tour of the English coast – a series of road trips living and working from the back of my Ford van where I explored the coastal landscape, and how we interact with it and to each other.

This detailed exploration of the seaside, a place so embedded in our nation’s psyche and national identity, reflects our nation’s changing population and behaviour. As I carried out initial test shoots, a compositional strategy emerged. I sought to document the collective more than the individual, highlighting peculiarities and eccentricities as well as the mundane scenes of everyday seaside life. Rituals and customs play out across canvases rich in detail, allowing the viewer to wander over the images.

My approach was to decide the composition, often from an elevated position either from the top of my van or a ladder, set up the camera and tripod from a fixed viewpoint and settle down for the great British public to populate the scene.

The project set out to record the population at leisure covering most of the major resorts as well as some more remote locations. During the research for these road trips it became evident that beneath the veil of neon lights and brightly decorated seafronts a darker reality exists. The English coast has some of the worst levels of deprivation in the country. Suicide, alcohol and drug addiction, self harm and obesity are all well above average here. The seasonal economy and the lack of quality employment together with soaring rent and house prices all contribute to the hardship.

Also embedded in the character of these towns can be an endemic suspicion and resentment of outsiders. The populations of many seaside towns are made up of a disproportionately high number of elderly and white people and this is predicted to increase in the future. Some of the highest Brexit voting areas in the country were on the coast and historically these areas are well known recruitment grounds for the far right. I personally noticed how few people I saw from the black ethnic minorities on many beaches although as you will see from the photographs happily this is slowly beginning to change.

We live in a country obsessed with owning land, but the coast offers an unexpected strip of common, democratic space, open to all and free from the exclusivity that characterises much of England.

The ‘road trip’ and the coast, have long been an inspiration for documentary photographers and artists alike, both on these shores and abroad. Many of these have provided inspiration for this project, above all Joachim Brohm, Stephen Shore, Simon Roberts, Pieter Bruegel, and J S Lowry.

After a pandemic that broke many of the constraints that bind our societies, this was an opportunity to record our re-emerging population. Against the backdrop of Brexit, COVID, war in Ukraine, the climate emergency, and economic recession, I felt this was a particularly pertinent moment to record our nation at leisure.

England-on-Sea is my journal as an itinerant, visiting the edges of our island to uncover what may be one of the most authentic expressions of our nation.

From the very outset of the project, which has taken over four years to complete, I had a firm belief that I wanted to exhibit the work at an outside coastal location. In a way returning the work to the very people who often unwittingly participated in it.

This has come to fruition recently with a grant from Dorset National Landscapes and help from Bridport Town Council who have funded an exhibition on West Bay promenade in Dorset. Encouraged by the high visitor numbers and the positive feedback from both the general public and fellow artists and professionals I am now seeking to tour the exhibition on to other seaside locations and galleries. Having also tried and tested the design of the exhibition structures I feel confident in delivering the exhibition to any suitable location in the country. If anyone reading this feels they may know of a suitable gallery or seafront location that might be interested in putting on an exhibition of this nature then please get in touch.

© Brent Jones

© Brent Jones

© Brent Jones

© Brent Jones

© Brent Jones

© Brent Jones

© Brent Jones

© Brent Jones

Outdoor seaside exhibition at West Bay, Bridport, Dorset. © Brent Jones