This post is also available in: French

The British’s attachment to their homes has been constantly asserting itself since the early 19th century to become an important part of their identity. The words ”comfort” and ”comfortable” are inventions of the English language which were imported in French because nothing else could better express the link between the well-being of soul and body and the domestic interior.

An interior, with its objects and decor, tells the life of those who live there, their relationship to the world, their interactions and their family values. It’s the
place of convergence of their individual, social and cultural identity, the place of their submission or their opposition to the norm. It reflects their habitus in the meaning accorded by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this pattern of acquired thoughts generating tastes, skills and social practices.

Until the 1960’s, the British documentary tradition focused its attention on the street, formerly identified with the workers’ culture. The new photography emerged in the 1970’s is gradually turning away from it, favoring the domestic space. This shift from the outside to the inside reflects a new way of life, folded on the hearth and appeared in the 1950’s with prosperity, consumption and the rise of television.

What better than the theme of home, home so dear to the heart of the British, to highlight the richness, diversity and evolution of photography across the Channel? ”Home Sweet Home” brings together 30 artists of all generations who make us penetrate the intimacy and the everyday life of Britain from the 1970s to the present day. This is a tour of the owner enlightening, from different perspectives, the social, cultural and political realities, past and present, of British society.

Home Sweet Home presents works of: Ed Alcock (1974), Dana Ariel (1983), Keith Arnatt (1930-2008), Laura Blight (1985), Juno Calypso (1989), Natasha Caruana (1983), Mark Cawson (1959-2018), Edmund Clark (1963), John Paul Evans (1965), Anna Fox (1961), Ken Grant (1967), Anthony Haughey (1963), Tom Hunter (1965), Sarah Jones (1959), Peter Kennard (1949), Neil Kenlock (1950), Karen Knorr (1954), Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen (1948), Chris Leslie (1974), Stephen McCoy (1956), Iain McKell (1957), Michael McMillan (1962), Daniel Meadows (1952), David Moore (1961), John Myers (1944), Martin Parr (1952), Magda Segal (1959), Andy Sewell (1978), David Spero (1963), Eva Stenram (1976), Clare Strand (1973), Colin Thomas (1950), Gee Vaucher (1945).