This social documentary portrays a community from a forgotten piece of England. In 1916 the town’s founder dreamt of creating a coastal resort to rival its neighbour Brighton, advertising cheap ‘homes for heroes’ and attracting media attention. Today this quiet backwater appears to belong to no particular era, representative of the generic ‘suburban town’ we have all become familiar with seeing rather than somewhere with a uniquely fascinating past.
Using new, archive and donated photographs this project has been exhibited as an installation consisting of prints, photo-books, postcards and ephemera displaying histories past and present. Stylistically the presentation methods reflect in parts family album, in parts archive cabinets and in parts diary format attempting to provide diverse insights into the social world and development of Peacehaven since its beginnings.
These methods are mirrored throughout the projects various formats suggesting the arbitrary nature of the re-telling of history and social documentary. In doing so this project acts as a platform from where I can explore the co-existence and presentation of multi layered narratives highlighting a trove of personal stories which in this case are hidden behind a suburban façade.
Biography: Amelia has completed the MA in Documentary Photography and Photojournalism at the London College of Communication. She recently exhibited as part of the Brighton Photo Fringe, 2010 for which she was shortlisted for the Danny Wilson Memorial Prize. Her work was shown at Hotshoe Gallery, London in May 2011.
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