No Time for Flowers

Vanley Burke is often described as the ‘Godfather of Black British Photography’, whereby his iconic images have captured the evolving cultural landscape, social change, and stimulated debate in the United Kingdom over the past four decades. He draws strength from remaining a humble man of the community, whose personable character allows him to capture the intimate and private nature of people’s everyday lives.

Burke played a key role in documenting protest in 1970s and 80s Birmingham, including Anti-Nazi League demonstrations and the Handsworth uprising. He also photographed life in South Africa in the 1990s, as the Apartheid system crumbled, including the Sharpeville demonstration and Nelson Mandela’s birthday party. Both bodies of work are presented at Diffusion 2017 in a special exhibition No Time for Flowers.

The artist’s body of work represents possibly the largest photographic record of the Caribbean Diaspora in Britain, and as an avid collector, he continues to connect histories through his substantial archive housed at the Library of Birmingham.