They are pictures which have been described as summing up a whole era of Birmingham’s history.
, branded the ‘Godfather of Black British Photography’, contains images which are some of the best known of the city.
Taking place at the , At Home with Vanley Burke features a recreation of his own flat – showing how the snapper is inspired by his avid collecting.
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The project has seen the entire contents of Burke’s flat in Nechells, north-east Birmingham, transported to Ikon’s main exhibition space – but there are only a few days left to see it before it closes on September 27.
Mr Burke was born in Jamaica in 1951, moving to Birmingham in 1965 to live with his parents who had moved here before, looking for work.
He had been given a ‘box brownie’ camera for his 10th birthday, and his love of the medium grew from that.
It was in 1967 that he decided to seriously become a photographer, .
Some of the images in the exhibition are very famous – including ‘The Boy with the Flag’ – a picture taken during times community unrest of a young black lad with his bike – and a Union Jack attached to the handlebars.
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It came to symbolise the will to make Britain home. Pictures also show community events, outings, and parties in the region, often showing the Caribbean influences from whence they came.
Other shots show the darker side of the city in those days, the aftermath of rioting and anti-racism marches.
His career as a photographer has taken him from capturing the streets of during the violence in 1985 to recording black life at the end of apartheid in South Africa.
Arriving in Britain in 1965, Mr Burke has documented the experience of black people in the 海角视频 for over 45 years, producing what is regarded to be the greatest photographic record of African Caribbean people in post-war Britain.
Reproduced as part of the exhibition, Mr Burke’s flat displays a vast collection of printed material – posters, flyers, publications – clothes, records, ornaments and countless other items, it provides an invaluable insight into Britain’s African Caribbean communities.
An Ikon gallery spokeswoman said: “The countless objects that fill Burke’s space, serve as a portrait of religious and political beliefs, artistic activities, fashions, leisure pursuits, food, health issues and many other aspects of everyday life. This exhibition reveals Burke too as a subject of his own enquiry.”
Speaking about the recreation of his home, Mr Burke said: “This flat is many things, it’s an archive, it’s a gallery, it’s my home, it’s where I collect a part of our history. History is part of a lived experience... it’s those objects which might look so insignificant, so kitsch, but to a lot of people it contains so much information about how their parents lived.”
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by funds raised through Art Happens, the Art Fund’s crowd-funding platform, and the Mill Dam Trust.
The Vanley Burke Archive maintained by is based at the .
Mr Burke said: “It’s just about the ability to see something others may be unable to see, in terms of the value. Then show people. They need to see their contribution to this community.”
* The exhibition continues until September 27 at the Ikon Gallery, in Oozells Square, , . It is open Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-5pm, with free entry