© Marjolaine Ryley
Having children has made Marjolaine Ryley feel that her own upbringing – within an “alternative universe” of free schools, squats, communes and camps – is “impossible” for the generation growing up today.
That sounds like something of a lament given that her memories of the Kirkdale school she attended in London (where free schools were unusual) centre on the happiness pupils gained through rural freedom.
“My own photographs feel increasingly like one enormous archive collection,” she concedes, confessing to being a “notorious hoarder and collector.”
“They ultimately seek to capture the ever-changing world around me, as well as looking back through time and history. I am attempting to bring to life a snapshot of a vanished history, both personal and social.”
Shortly after Ryley began this project, she discovered the work of Dave Walkling, a photographer whose monochrome images frame the squatted house where she grew up within the spirit of the era, original black and white prints from the 1970s which, Ryley says, have a “dual fascination” as both physical objects and a “window through time”.
Objects, letters, clothing and memorabilia enhance the sense of a counterculture which led to and influenced all sorts of movements, from punk and rave culture to environmental protest, critical mass and good old flash mobbing.
- Open 10am-5pm (except Sunday). Admission free.
More pictures:
© Marjolaine Ryley
© Marjolaine Ryley
© Marjolaine Ryley
© Dave Walking
© Marjolaine Ryley
