Identity crisis

British identity has been hauled down from its plinth and shattered at the feet of imperialist forebears. In the wake of Brexit, the Windrush scandal, Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and rising levels of race hate crime, the shackles of history are being prised open. Discussions of what being British was, is and should be are being amplified and photography is playing a part.

British-Chinese/Singaporean filmmaker, editor and writer Paul Sng is on a mission to magnify under-heard voices in society. His documentary film, , follows the band Sleaford Mods on a tour of the United Kingdom in the run-up to the 2015 general election. The documentary explores the band and examines the current political situation in the United Kingdom focusing on opposition to austerity. The book, , edited by Sng with a foreword by actor and activist Michael Sheen, reveals untold stories from people(TSI), published by Policy Press with a foreword by award-winning author Kit de Waal, examines how concepts of Britishness reveal an inclusive range of opinions and understandings about our national character. ‘What I really wanted to do with was tell stories about people that are exploring identity and belonging at a time when we do live in a very divided land to try and show that maybe there’s no such thing as Britishness because everyone has a different idea what it means; it was also to show the diversity of views and opinions that make up our society,’ explains Sng.