Vanley Burke
Vanley Burke (born 1951) is a British Jamaican photographer and artist. His photographs capture experiences of his community's arrival in Britain, the different landscapes and cultures he encountered, the different ways of survival and experiences of the wider African-Caribbean community. In 2021 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. Life and work. Vanley Burke was born in St. Thomas, Jamaica, in 1951. For his 10th birthday he was sent a "Box Brownie" camera—a Kodak Brownie 127—by his mother, who in the late 1950s had gone to live in England, while  he remained with his aunt in St.Thomas. In 1965 at the age of 14 he went to join his parents in the UK, leaving his radio to his aunt as a parting gift but taking his camera with him. Burke seriously started photography around 1967, making a conscious decision to document the black community and lifestyle in England. His first studio was in Grove Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham. His photographs capture experiences of his community's arrival in Britain, the different landscapes and cultures he encountered, the different ways of survival and experiences of the wider African-Caribbean community. His  photography sought to counteract any perception of negative or stereotypical imagery of black people found in mainstream media. His photographs represented members of the black community back to themselves in intimate portrayal and were taken from his perspective as an integral member of the community as opposed to basic documentary images perceived from "outsiders". Burke's interests have expanded to include other communities in the city and their experiences. Burke's first notable exhibition, "Handsworth from the Inside", was held at Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, and then the Commonwealth Institute in London in 1983. Since then his work has been  exhibited at Light House, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, The Black Arts Gallery in London, Cornerhouse in Manchester and Walsall Museum and Art Gallery, and he has held solo exhibitions abroad in New York City and Mali. In addition to traditional galleries and other such settings, Burke has purposely exhibited his work in locations more easily accessible to black audiences such as community centres, clubs, pubs, churches, pool halls and schools. The 1993 exhibition "From Negative Stereotype to Positive Image" included his work alongside that of three other Birmingham photographers: Sir Benjamin Stone (1838-1914), Ernest Dyche (1887-1973) and Claudette  Holmes (born 1962). He was a significant contributor of imagery to the Birmingham photography magazine and collective, "Ten.8". Burke's work has also been used in documentaries (including "Handsworth Songs", 1986), television programmes, books and on record sleeves such as UB40's "Jeffrey Morgan". A biography "A Retrospective", on the life and works of Burke, was published by Lawrence & Wishart, edited by Mark Sealy. In 1990 Burke received a call from a friend in South Africa saying: "South Africa is going to be free and we need you here." During two visits to the country, in 1990 then in 1996 , Burke photographed the life of black South Africans just after Nelson Mandela's release from prison and the subsequent ANC celebrations hosted and attended by Mandela for the anti-Apartheid veterans. The "Vanley Burke Archive" maintained by Birmingham City Council is a constantly growing photographic and documentary community resource. Complementing his photographic documentation, Burke collects material which samples and evidences developments and activities of the black community in Britain. The material comprises things such as posters or flyers and funeral cards that may have been seen as disposable at the time of their creation but take greater significance when maintained  in the context of his archive. They evidence and provide insight of the daily activities and everyday lives, cultural and religious beliefs, the arts, political ideals, health and other facets affecting the black community and others in Birmingham and in Britain. Burke is still documenting the black community in the UK and has more recently worked on a number of projects including an exhibition and publication project documenting the Asian community in Birmingham. Having won a Kodak Award as early as 1984, he has also received an Honorary Doctorate from Leicester University, UK, in 2007, and the Wolverhampton School of  Art and Design awarded him an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Art in 2009 at their award ceremony. Stuart Hall endorsed that: "the personal, social and economic life of black people as they arrived, settled and became established in British society – is being constructed, given a certain meaning, significance, value, by Burke's camera eye, not merely 'captured'." Burke said in September 2005: "It's just about the ability to see something others may be unable to see, in terms of the value. Then show people. They need to see their contribution to this community. I mean, they have been  contributing to this thing from the 50s and it's gone beyond, but there is no reference anywhere. It's about having themselves reflected, they are so desperate to see themselves. But this will be there, it isn't going anywhere...". The British Library conducted an oral history interview (C459/217) with Burke in 2014 for its Oral History of British Photography collection. Burke was a guest on BBC Radio 4's programme "Desert Island Discs", first broadcast on 4 November 2018, when he was interviewed by Lauren Laverne and explained his motivation for documenting culture and history. In 2021, the  National Portrait Gallery, London acquired a portrait of Burke by Pogus Caesar. Personal life. Burke is a father to three sons, a grandfather to six children.