England, 2023-Present

In the opening monologue of ‘The Last of England’ (Derek Jarman, 1987) the narrator says “We pull the curtains tight over the dawn and shiver by empty grates. The household gods have departed, no one remembers quite when… The oaks died this year. On every green field mourners stand and weep for the Last of England. The mystery of the question that lingers in the UK is “What broke Britain?”. This is not an analysis of the UK’s economics nor is it a criticism of Capitalism. What the UK has experienced through the 2008 financial crisis, public austerity, Covid-19 pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, NHS underfunding, increasing environmental concerns and Brexit has caused a slow but profound process of social breakdown, the effects of which will reverberate through generations. The economic and social systems responsible for reproducing labour that creates value in capitalist societies are all collapsing. England is a sustained examination of the blasted, surreal and vacant places landscapes of the fading frontier of a once great nation. The landscapes of England are typically British, clouded skies of murky grey hues, wind-swept shores, slow moving tides, faint sound of birds overhead. I visited these places out of season, alone in mind and body, when there were few people around; experiencing the landscapes complicated past, solitary state, whilst anticipating its uncertain future. For the last 60 years, England has been experiencing a mythological unravelling, the mystery of its past and history being lost to perpetual need for ‘growth’. The England of the postwar period was one of economic prosperity, empowerment, hope and resilience; but in the years since has gradually devolved into a barren landscape of despair, desperation and anarchy. As I wonder the country, I am faced by the reality that this country is broken, and it may be too late. This is an account of a countries spiritual decay, but the worst consequences are yet to come.