Handsworth Self Portrait

by Derek Bishton, Brian Homer & John Reardon

Nearly fifty years ago, in 1979, something quietly radical took place in Handsworth, Birmingham. Derek Bishton, Brian Homer and John Reardon invited their neighbours to photograph themselves – to determine how they wished to be seen and represented. What emerged was Handsworth Self Portraits, a body of work that is at once intimate, political and enduring. These photographs have never lost their urgency. They remain rooted in Handsworth, but they speak far beyond it –capturing a defining moment in the cultural and social fabric of modern Britain, shaped by migration, identity, community and self-expression. What makes them remarkable is not just who is pictured, but the agency behind each image: people choosing their own pose, their own presence, their own voice.

“I’ve loved the Handsworth Self Portraits from the first time I saw them in that early edition of Ten.8. They are right up there in my top ten photographic projects of all time, a wonderful example of community empowerment that has inspired so many other artists dealing with issues around representation and power. So happy this book has finally made it.”- Dr Mark Sealy, Curator, cultural historian and Director, Autograph, London