Belgravia is a series of 26 images and texts which describe class and power amongst the global and wealthy elites residing in Belgravia during the early years of Thatcherism. Belgravia today is still a cosmopolitan and rich neighbourhood in London near Harrods in Knightsbridge. My parents lived on Lowndes Square in Belgravia for 10 years and the first image I took of the series is a photograph was of my mother and grandmother in the front room of our “maisonette” (2 floor apartment ) in Lowndes Square. The photographs are not about individuals but about a community revealing their ideas about the world in conversation with me.

The combination of image and text brings this work close to satire and caricature. The meaning of the work can be found in the space between image and text: neither text nor image illustrate each other, but create a “third meaning” to be completed by the spectator. The text is used to slow down the viewing process, encouraging the viewer to return to re-evaluate the image in light of what we have read. There are key words capitalised and words from conversations are broken up and laid out on the surface of the photographic paper highlighting the constructed and ironic and humorous aspect of the work. The people photographed become social actors and perform their identities in a collaborative fashion with me. We chose clothes together and decided which part of their homes would suit their portrait. The portraits are staged, furniture moved and lighting set up. There is complicity, after all we are “family”.