Twins frolicking on a British beach: Sophie Green’s best photo | Art and design

OhUr British lake has different forms: bingo rooms, buckets and cups and pinwheels, and all kinds of wonderful entertainment. I find them a very strange place. I like a very minimalistic, maximalist look.

The beach is fun for all of us. My grandparents lived in Pembrokeshire and we used to visit them when I was young. The beach evokes a childlike curiosity. It’s a place where everyone can be, friends and family, any age, any background. It opens the connection to nature, which promotes freedom and pleasure. There are no rules really, and it’s all about fun – funfairs, playgrounds, water sports. We don’t have much space to play, especially as adults.

In a simple way, this picture shows the vivid color and the joy of being on the beach with your loved ones. It was taken in 2021 at this amazing game in Weston-super-Mare. I love the abundance of all the basic colors, the bright reds and greens and yellows, and the matching white T-shirts with the twins, which look great in the backyard. The ride was going so fast, I was afraid I wouldn’t want to put his mind on it.

I started shooting the British sea during the Covid lockdown. It was very difficult at that time to create any work because all my writings are about living, shared heritage, and places where groups of people gather. But then I saw that the beaches had become a gathering place, I started going to the beach and photographing people there – I had never been attracted to it before.

This will be my sixth year doing this project. I go back every summer. There are thousands of miles of coastline so it’s a fantastic way to see Britain. People of all races can live together and live together. Everyone is there for the same reasons and there is something very beautiful about that.

My projects often start in unpleasant ways. In 2014, I happened upon the historic Wimbledon Stadium and heard the sound of car engines. Until then, I didn’t know that banger racing is like fire sports. Intrigued, I began researching the culture and the surrounding area, and ten years later I’m still painting this project.

The church also grew due to daily observation. Living in south London, I became aware of the many Black churches in Southwark and often saw church goers on Sunday mornings dressed in beautiful white uniforms. One day, I stopped to talk to a woman about her dress, and that conversation became the starting point for the project.

Gypsy Gold got her start after watching My Big Fat Wedding. This program showed a lot of interest in the life of the Irish Traveler, and I suspect there is a bigger story. That interest led me to the Traveler horse shows – special events related to the horse trade, reconnecting with old traditions, which became a way to document aspects of the traveler life that outsiders don’t see or understand.

There are many stories that are not part of the mainstream narrative of society, and many ways in which people make meaning and make it their own. Relationships and communication are very important when we live in an individualistic world where there are many divisions. And the more I explore in my work, the more I appreciate how British people are – we have so many traditions. British identity is vast.

Sophie Green’s Tangerine Dreams: Living Traditions in Contemporary British Life is at Martin Parr Foundation, Bristolfrom 4 June to 6 September.

Sophie Green’s CV

Born 1991, London, UK
Above: A highlight for me has been Tangerine Dreams as both a book it’s a show. It’s my third photography book, bringing together ten years of my writing. Seeing the scale of that work come to fruition, and now on display as a solo exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation, has been a defining moment in my career.
Top tips: Think about what you want to say, what you like, and what you want to explore. Commit and commit yourself to it. Keep taking pictures. Be true to your vision and trust your instincts. Look for novelty, and for heaven’s sake, be curious.