MICHAELA COEL AT THE BAFTAS by Charlie Clift London At the 2021 BAFTAs, Michaela C: Portrait of Britain Volume 4 is published by Hoxton Mini Press in In collaboration with 1854 Media & *British Journal of Photography*

Written by Amanda Karmolinski

Photo Edited by Tania Flores

Copy Edited by Erin Pedigo

Portrait of Britain Vol. 4, (Hoxton Mini Press, 2022) is a collection of photographs showing how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed British people and society into what Jess Phillips, who wrote the book’s introduction, calls “a paradox.” The photos in this book reflect that people ache for a return to normalcy while knowing normalcy may be entirely unattainable. These photos are raw and real; depicting the wake of a pandemic, the book shows that the so-called new normal has been adjusted to.

THE REAL CATWALK by Daniele Fummo London: Portrait of Britain Volume 4 is published by Hoxton Mini Press in In collaboration with 1854 Media & *British Journal of Photography*

Some of the portraits let viewers relive the emotions we felt during the period of lockdowns, where staying at home unless necessary was encouraged to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Others convey hope, encourage us to smile or have a laugh—because we persevere, because nature carries on.

INTIMACY by Ryan Edy London: Portrait of Britain Volume 4 is published by Hoxton Mini Press in In collaboration with 1854 Media & *British Journal of Photography*

Ryan Edy photographed “Intimacy,” one of the most emotionally stirring photographs. It shows a couple, Joshua and Dale, lying in bed. They lie on their backs facing away from one another, resting their heads on each other’s shoulders, arms curving tenderly in caress. Edy took the photograph during lockdown, wanting to capture real intimacy between the couple, nothing forced for the camera. Edy writes that true intimacy is something felt, not contrived. And the couple in this photo, with their eyes closed, looking relaxed in the comfort of their home, perfectly embodies this closeness. Spending every day with someone harbors a level of intimacy that may not have been there before, and our spaces and the people we shared them with took on new significance during lockdowns.

THE GREEDY GULL by Lorraine Poole Girvan, South Ayrshire: Portrait of Britain Volume 4 is published by Hoxton Mini Press in In collaboration with 1854 Media & *British Journal of Photography*

“The Greedy Gull” shows us that nature stopped for no one during Covid-19; that animals’ natural order and their curiosity about humans was undisturbed. “The Greedy Gull,” photographed by Lorraine Poole, shows her father eating a fish and chips meal while sitting in the car. Looming down from the car’s sunroof, a large seagull stares down at his food. Poole snapped this moment on her iPhone, writing that her father hadn’t noticed the bird until she snapped the image. In it, her father looks up at the bird in surprise, with his utensil poised over his food. Poole captured a simple, lighthearted moment: A seagull eyeing a man’s fish and chips reminds us there was a world outside, waiting for us.

JOANNE AND MARCUS by Megan Eagles London: Portrait of Britain Volume 4 is published by Hoxton Mini Press in In collaboration with 1854 Media & *British Journal of Photography*

Megan Eagles, who took the photograph “Joanne and Marcus,” writes that she and the subject, a woman named Joanne, gave birth to their babies around the same time at the same hospital during the pandemic. This portrait, like the others, radiates human resilience. “Joanne and Marcus” is so raw and real that it inspires hope, it conveys the strength of women as they became mothers with illness ever present. These portraits show how Britain changed in many ways yet carries on, and that the most basic human drives will outlast anything. Portrait of Britain Vol. 4 is the fourth installment in a collaboration with British Journal of Photography, according to the publisher.

To read more of Portrait Of Britain please visit here.