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Untitled [Desmond's (standing with broom on left) Hip City records shop in Brixton South, London, damaged by National Front members]

Photograph
1974 (Photographed), 2011 (Printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Photographer Neil Kenlock (born 1950) moved to South London from Jamaica in 1963 and became determined to document black pride in the face of racial prejudice. Acting as the official photographer for the British Black Panther Movement, Kenlock’s photographs record the group’s activism and the instances of racism they aimed to combat.

This photograph depicts Desmond’s Hip City, the first black-owned record shop in Brixton and a thriving cultural centre for music within Britain’s black community. Kenlock documented the damage to the shop as an example of the racially motivated violence carried out by members of the right-wing group the National Front.

The V&A acquired ten photographs by Kenlock alongside work by his contemporaries Charlie Phillips and Armet Francis as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleUntitled [Desmond's (standing with broom on left) Hip City records shop in Brixton South, London, damaged by National Front members] (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin silver print
Brief description
Photograph by Neil Kenlock, 'Untitled [Desmond's (standing with broom on left) Hip City records shop in Brixton South, London, damaged by National Front members]', gelatin silver print, London, 1974, printed 2011
Physical description
A black and white photograph of the interior of a record shop, as people clear up damage. Records and record sleeves hang from the ceiling and fill shelves behind a counter covered with posters in the background. Four people clean up glass and detritus on the shop's checkerboard floor. A man to the far left holding a broom wears a cloth cap, while another man walking towards him has an afro hairstyle and wears a suit with flared trousers.
Dimensions
  • Image size height: 30.7cm
  • Image size width: 45.6cm
  • Paper size height: 40.1cm
  • Paper size width: 55.0cm
Style
Credit line
Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Object history
The V&A acquired this photograph as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Photographer Neil Kenlock (born 1950) moved to South London from Jamaica in 1963 and became determined to document black pride in the face of racial prejudice. Acting as the official photographer for the British Black Panther Movement, Kenlock’s photographs record the group’s activism and the instances of racism they aimed to combat.

This photograph depicts Desmond’s Hip City, the first black-owned record shop in Brixton and a thriving cultural centre for music within Britain’s black community. Kenlock documented the damage to the shop as an example of the racially motivated violence carried out by members of the right-wing group the National Front.

The V&A acquired ten photographs by Kenlock alongside work by his contemporaries Charlie Phillips and Armet Francis as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
E.219-2012

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Record createdApril 5, 2012
Record URL
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