After leaving many years ago I returned to find a country frozen in time. Whilst London had flourished the communities of the economic north were left behind. Cities once full of factories were filled with foodbanks, barbershops and fading hopes.’
In 2017 photographer Merlin Daleman embarked on a journey through the
economic North of the UK. Originally from the West Midlands, Daleman
has lived in the Netherlands for mostof his adult life. Driven by curiosity to
understand the divisions in the UK made evident in the 2016 referendum, he
returned to photograph. He revisited the previously familiar with the eyes
of an outsider.
Daleman visited over 60 towns and cities from Aberdeen to Bangor,
Blackpool to Belfast, and from Fife to Skegness. The photographs give
the impression of Daleman as anobserver, moving quickly and unobtrusively
on foot through the streets. The images show the urban infrastructure of
boarded-up shopfronts and rainy streets, canals and bright seafront businesses.
The people captured as Daleman passes through are often shown
demonstrating their humour, warmth, fortitude and community.
A young girl eats an ice-cream outside an cafe in Bridlington, England.
A woman fights the bad weather as she walk up the road the past the Church of Ireland (Protestant) towards Saint Patricks Church (Catholic). Belleek, Northern Ireland.
A sofa resting on a boat on the front drive of a house in Jaywick, England. Jaywick is often cited as one of the most deprived areas of the UK.
Youth dressed in black hanging out on the street in Bridlington, England.
My images tell the story of a fractured Britain. The towns and cities that voted for Brexit in2016 were in my view an act of defiance against a system that ignored them. This is theBritain that London often forgets….I seek to reflect the frustration and resilience of those who have been left behind, highlighting the social and economic fractures that challenge theidea of a “united” United Kingdom. I strive to tell the story of a divided nation—and a story of resilience.”
A hot Septembers day at the Grove football ground in Halesowen. Halesowen town win against Stamford FC.
The Chinese take-away on Broadway in Jaywick, England. The town is often cited as one of the most deprived area's of the UK.
A woman is trying her best to move her two dogs along a street in Romford, Havering which had a 70% Leave vote during the 2016 Brexit referendum.
The golfers cross the road to reach the other half of a golf-course in Havering on the edge of London. Havering had a 70% Leave vote during the 2016 Brexit referendum.
According to Philip McCann, economic geographer at the University
of Manchester, hardly any other European country experiences such
a stark geographical divide between rich and poor as the UK. Only
West and East Germany have a greater divide. The economy of London
- where national policy is formed - is larger than the economies of the next
fourteen largest British cities combined. A sense of disparity and
disenfranchisement felt by many in the economic North is confirmed by
economics. It isagainst this backdrop that the Leave campaign thrived and
many staged a ‘mutiny’.
A mattress bumped in an alleyway near Manchester Road, Swindon. According to statistics Swindon is the most average British town.
A couple in a pleasure boat ride along the exterior of Pleasure Beach, Skegness, England.
Outside a community church in Saracen Street, Glasgow, Scotland.
The border between Northern-Ireland and Ireland, the only land border between the UK and the EU. Belleek, Northern-Ireland.
A man and his dog walk though a run-down shopping centre in Morecambe, England.
People sitting outside a cafe in the wintertime in Morecambe, England.
An ice-cream man parked next to a deckchair rental on a stormy summers day. Ingoldmells, England.
NOT TO BE USED without prior consent! A couple looking at their mobile at the closed gate of the beach. Ingoldmells, England.
A boy waits in the doorway of a Polish corner shop in Spalding, Lincolnshire. Spalding had one of the higher Leave votes in the 2016 Brexit referendum, 73.6%
A boarded up house and a church behind a McDonalds sign in Dudley, England
Gravestones next to a skip alongside the road in Hull, England.
Youngsters hang out together out of boredom in Hull. They told Merlin that they feel stuck, they can't even afford the train ticket to get out of Hull, England.
The taped up window of Dixie Chicken on Broad Street. Birmingham, England.
Clothes drying in a social housing estate in the town center of Fraserburgh, Scotland. It is one of Europe’s biggest shell-fishing ports.
Wheeling a buggy across Bridlington Beach, England.
In the background is the roller-coaster of Fantasy Island Theme Park with a caravan park in the fore-ground. Skegness, England.
Idealised view of the English countryside on a vinyl in the window of a supermarket in Morecambe, England.
A closed down cobblers in Morecambe, England.
A reflection of in the window of Archie’s Burgers in Birmingham, England.
View through a hotel window with a view of the port of Dover. Dover has been struck hard by Brexit and yet it voted for Leave.
Two old women stand in a shopping centre in Romford. 69.7% voted for Brexit in the London Borough of Havering, England.
A day at the beach with the donkey ride in the background. Skegness, England.
A group of women playing a board game in a shelter on the boulevard of Skegness, England.
A family walks past an American styled carwash in the Shankill Road District. Belfast, Northern-Ireland.
Market in Beverley, England.
A schoolboy leans against a signpost in the bushes. West-Bromwich, England.
'Chair for rent'. West Bromwich, England.
Paul Sommerville campaigning for a People’s Vote in an attempt to reverse Brexit. Going from door to door in Durham and campaigning at gatherings in Sunderland, England.
Men having a cigarette outside a pub in Tipton, England.
The tents of homeless people in the dunes behind the Roller Coaster of Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth, England.
A little poodle was waiting for it’s owner on the streets outside a shop in Morecambe, England.
Boarded up house on the Preston Road Estate. Hull, England. In 2017 Hull was the UK's capital of culture
Two people coming out of an underpass in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Girls on their night out at Brindley Place in Birmingham, England.