J’can mounts photo exhibition on Bradford’s history

LONDON:

An exhibition featuring the unique work of a Jamaica-born photographer has been launched, in the north of England.

Frontline 1984/1985 is the début exhibition of Victor Wedderburn, highlighting over 100 colour images. The display documents the lives of Bradford’s African-Caribbean communities 40 years ago.

The inaugural exhibition provides a glimpse into the work of the self-taught artist, revealing images never previously seen by art lovers.

Commenting on his first exhibition Wedderburn said: “I have been taking photographs on my camera since the mid-1980s.Back then I was developing them (photographs) at home, by hand.These photos are my memories of my life, but also the lives of the African-Caribbean community in Bradford.”

He added: “Being able to work with the Bradford 2025 teams and exhibit my photos for the first time is such a special moment for me and my friends, family and community who feature in my photographs.

“I have been revisiting the memories and remembering a time that’s often forgotten.”

The pictures on display at the Loading Bay, a temporary cultural hub in Bradford, include landmarks where the Caribbean community congregated, major events and characters, during the 1980s.

Lumb Lane, the Roots Record Shop and the Perseverance Hotel, popular locations in Bradford’s past, are captured in Wedderburn’s work.

Sound system parties and anti-apartheid marches are also featured in the exhibition.

A soundtrack, comprising reggae, roots and dub genres, can be heard throughout the exhibition. The musical accompaniment was created by one of the city’s leading music personalities, Jerry ‘Red Dred’ Crawford.

Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, commenting on the exhibition said: “Frontline 1984/1985 is a powerful reminder of photography’s ability to tell untold stories.

FIRST EXHIBITION

“This marks Victor Wedderburn’s first ever exhibition; offering an intimate glimpse into Bradford’s vibrant communities during the 1980s.

“Through his lens, we see moments of pride, resilience and everyday life from a pivotal era in the city’s social history.”

Gulzar added: “This exhibition honours the people behind the photographs and their families. It’s a celebration of culture, memory, and identity; brought to life in our City of Culture year.”

When redundancy took Wedderburn’s job at Crofts Engineers in the early 1980s, he used his pay-off to buy a second-hand camera and film developing kit then set about documenting life in the city.

Recalling the circumstances, Wedderburn said: “I offered to buy it jointly with a friend of mine, but he pulled out as it was for colour prints only. He said he didn’t think photography was art if it was colour. So, I used my redundancy money and bought the kit myself.”

He said that he taught himself how to develop and process colour film and initially carried out the clumsy process of removing films from their canisters, inside a black bin bag.

The photographer said: “At the time I lived in a bedsit (one room) and started out using bin liners as part of the developing process. I’d use about four, one inside the other and another one over my torso. I’d have my hands inside the bags trying to extract film from the spool and put in into a canister.

“Not surprisingly a lot of my attempts failed, but I was determined to learn the craft and I did.”

The Jamaican photographer later designed a makeshift darkroom in his kitchen, began documenting Bradford by picture and launched his own business selling pictures to friends.

Wedderburn laments the gradual weakening of Bradford’s Caribbean community: “The community is not there anymore,” he says. “There’s no trace of it.”

His parents came over to Bradford in the 1950s. He said: “They left when I was six, leaving us kids with friends and relatives. Their plan was to help tidy up Britain after the war, make some money and then return.

“They came back to Jamaica when I was 14, but within a year they went back to England and took me and my siblings with them.”

A selection of Wedderburn’s photographs will be on display at the National Science & Media Museum from June 12 to October 29 2025, as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.