I wrote about the exhibition Lives Less Ordinary and the documentary I Am Martin Parr for ArtReview.
What Depictions of the British Working Class Get Wrong
Author: annacoatman
‘Mother State’ Reveals the Political Stakes of Motherhood
Writer and academic Helen Charman’s debut non-fiction book tracks the cultural fixation of mothering in art and literature. I wrote about Mother State for Frieze Magazine.
Unlearning Lockdown’s Lessons
The Covid lockdowns drew new attention to the extent of the deprivation that scars Britain. But two years on, little has changed – and for millions of people, the cost of living crisis is making things even worse. I wrote about Stu Hennigan’s Ghost Signs: Poverty and the Pandemic for Tribune.
Angry young woman: the rise of Shelagh Delaney
The rise of Shelagh Delaney. I wrote a cover essay about the playwright for the November 2019 issue of the TLS.
Style meets attitude: Lorenza Mazzetti’s London Diaries
A young Italian-born woman’s life in England. I wrote about Lorenza Mazzetti’s memoir, London Diaries, for the TLS.
A radical vision in east London: Four Corners & Camerawork
An exhibition offers the chance to explore how in 1975 an empty shop in Bethnal Green became home to a pioneering set of independent filmmakers whose work boldly focused on under-represented communities. I wrote about the radical history of collaborative filmmaking and community photography at the Four Corners workshop and Camerawork in Bethnal Green for Sight & Sound.
Political Capital from Embittered Youth: Tish Murtha
What do pictures of 1970s Tyneside tells us about Britain now? A survey of Tish Murtha’s work at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, shows the compassion and conviction of the late documentary photographer. I reviewed the exhibition for frieze magazine.
A Holiday From Reality: womxn and social realism
The kitchen sink films of the 1950s and the social realist tradition of Ken Loach have come to define British working-class cinema, but since the 90s women and non-binary people have been key to reimagining its range. I wrote this essay on gender, class and film for the special ‘Class Ceiling’ issue of Sight & Sound.
Dire Straights: an interview with Desiree Akhavan
The Miseducation of Cameron Post is Desiree Akhavan’s 1990s-set tale of a young woman sent to a rural gay conversion therapy centre run by Christians. I interviewed the director for the October 2018 issue of Sight & Sound. Continue reading “Dire Straights: an interview with Desiree Akhavan”
Ways of Listening: an interview with Nell Dunn
Why did Nell Dunn, the daughter of an earl, choose to write about working-class lives? In this interview she reflects back on her seminal book, Talking to Women (1964), and the unheard voices she recorded in it. I talked to the author about writing, talking and listening for Boundless.
Anna Coatman 