Capella Buncher 2020 The Canon Award for Potential
My 69-year-old Dad, knackered after work, winter 2019. This was the sight I was met with as I entered the house I grew up in for the first time in months. I was filled with the society-bred self-doubt that starting a photography project that focussed on my working-class family was even relevant. This initial vision confirmed to me not only relevancy, but also urgency. © Capella Buncher
My Mum, Bunny, wishing my teenage brother, Danny, good morning, winter 2019. This photo encapsulates the complex relationship between mother and son. She is often compulsively and manically sunny around him - parental guilt makes it hard for her to acknowledge his darkness. © Capella Buncher
Danny bathing, winter 2019. This photo was taken after Danny came home early in the morning, silent and with bruised eyes. © Capella Buncher
My Dad, Steve, receiving a worrying letter from the NHS, winter 2019. My Dad is barely literate and quite isolated from the rest of the household - this was an anxious moment for him. © Capella Buncher
My Mum teaching my self-professed ‘caveman’ Dad how to forward messages on WhatsApp, winter 2019. Technology has always been something frightening to my dad who was born in 1951 and has spent most of his life outside in nature or working physically. Getting a smart phone last year has helped him stay connected to his friends, however having to adapt to and navigate a drastically different world is difficult for those society leaves behind. © Capella Buncher
The shared space between brothers, Danny (18) and Jim (42), winter 2019. My oldest half-brother moving back into my family home on weeknights has been a sweet experience in many ways. He and Danny get on well and often stay up joking and vaping into the night. © Capella Buncher
My Mum’s coping mechanisms, winter 2019. Wine, lightly salted crisps and Dave comedy channel are the methods she uses to deal with her difficult family relationships and mental stability. Bunny is either incredibly strong or incredibly weak. © Capella Buncher
The boys after a card game, winter 2019. This photo highlights the instability of the atmosphere in the house at times. Moments before this photo was taken, they were all erupting in laughter. © Capella Buncher
A lunchtime dispute between Steve and Danny, winter 2019. Toxic masculinity is a disease that has infected all my brothers to varying degrees, contracted from my father. Here is captured a common testosterone-saturated occurrence. © Capella Buncher
Danny catching a vibe in his bedroom, spring 2020. Despite, struggling with his mental health, learning disabilities, insecurity and loneliness, my brother finds great refuge between his lovingly adorned bedroom walls. Danny loves music - anything from Ry Cooder’s slide guitar to 90s jungle and hardcore. He is often found with his disco ball on, incense burning and portable speaker booming, dreaming of a future. © Capella Buncher
Mum starring through the window, winter 2019. Due to the way my mother chooses to cope with her situation, it is very difficult to capture her being genuine and truthful with her face. This was a rare moment that shows the dissatisfaction she must feel, but seldom articulates. © Capella Buncher
My Dad after hitting his pipe, spring 2020. Up until the last 15 years, my Dad was one of the most charismatic, hilarious and wildly creative people I have ever known, with the most outrageous stories, infectious laugh and loosest hips. Since having his last two children, Danny and I, he has been forced to work menial, brain deadening jobs, due to a lack of formal education. The deleterious effect this has had on his mental and physical health, relationships and self-esteem is shocking. Sometimes when he gets high, there is a flicker of that past self. © Capella Buncher
And the Livin’ is Easy
‘And the Livin’ is Easy’ is a rebellion against the demonising, two-dimensional stereotypes of working-class people that permeate British media, entertainment and wider society. In contrast to Jeremy Kyle’s poverty porn, Gymbox’s ‘chav bashing’ classes and Rees-Mogg’s assertion that Grenfell victims ‘lacked common sense’, Capella presents unique characters with complex existences. The project zooms into different members of her family and seeks to visualise the more abstract and psychological impact of being poor in Britain. This series captures her teenage brother’s struggle with depression and the space he shares with their 42-year-old brother, her father’s isolation, her desperately coping mother and the strained relationships that hold them all together.
About the Photographer
Capella Buncher (b. 1995) is a photographer from London, exploring the inequalities of the British class system and illuminating underrepresented existences. She only started creating images in the winter of 2019, yet her photos have been exhibited as a part of ‘Please Mind the Flash’ 2019 and featured both in print and online by the BBC, Lecture in Progress and Magnum Photos. Since winning the 2020 Ian Parry Scholarship, Capella intends to extend ‘And the Livin’ is Easy’ beyond her family, to the rest of Britain, with the desire to encapsulate the diversity and complexity of the working class. Capella’s intention is to educate and raise consciousness, as well as nurture class solidarity and community.