The 80s: Photographing Britain at Tate Britain

The longest exhibition of 2025 so far.

I was looking forward to visiting this exhibition, The 80s: Photographing Britain, but the HUGE amount of photographs and extensive texts made me tired by half of the show. On top of it, I was still recovering from a very bad flu. Results: I need to come back again, but I’m not sure if I will. Even though activism is at its prime! What’s happening?

The length of it reminds me of Women in Revolt. A great exhibition, but the archival material was way so extensive that you didn’t want to be in revolt anymore. Instead, lie down and look at society passing by. But not everything is bad:

The selection of photographs and archival material gives you absolutely everything to realise the bumpy “rise and fall” of the UK. From the riots in Mile End and Whitechapel, to landscape, to Thatcherism, more riots, Ireland independence and the IRA, Queer voices (although this was the last part of the show) and Blackness (most of the work by Black artists was at the end of the show too). Very informative for you to know what was happening at that time. With the what’s, why’s, where’s, and how’s. Does that overcome the photograph? Does so much information glimpse the engagement with the photograph? Because I felt like they were giving me all the information chewed already.

Here is my selection of photographs. Do you recognise any of these moments and works?