The we way were

Few can boast such a large and wide-ranging archive of British life than the Canadian-born photographer Homer Sykes. Such is the breadth of his collection that he has published numerous books and has been exhibited countless times – including at the 2007 Tate Britain exhibition ‘How We Are: Photographing Britain’, the prestigious gallery’s very first major photographic show. His photographs were included among some of the UK’s finest – and certainly most famous – names in photographic history, such as Bill Brandt, Julia Margaret Cameron, David Bailey, William Fox Henry Talbot and more. new generation inspired by Homer’s unique eye for storytelling.

Homer’s career began in earnest in 1968, with a degree at what was then called The London College of Printing, but is now known as the London College of Communication. While he was there, he struck up a friendship with the Magnum photographer David Hurn, who was lecturing at