Visual and Oral Narratives of Place and Belonging during Brexit

Maria Abranches,Ulrike G Theuerkauf

doi:10.1080/08949468.2021.1984807

Abstract

Using visual and oral approaches, this article presents new findings on the social construction of place and belonging in the aftermath of the UK’s Brexit Referendum. Photographs by our British and non-British participants depict everyday life in a seaside town, with rare references to political aspects of migration. In their oral narratives, by contrast, the same participants emphasize the contested nature of belonging, which they associate with Brexit. We argue that the production of distinctly non-contentious photos is a strategy to deal with political uncertainty, reaffirm individuals’ sense of place and belonging, and transform experiences of disruption into hope.

Highlights

Using visual and oral approaches, this article presents new findings on the social construction of place and belonging in the aftermath of the UK’s Brexit Referendum
The project team included British and non-British researchers, and used an intensive primary data-gathering strategy consisting of semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and participatory photography
Based on a combination of visual and oral data, our findings show that, irrespective of their nationality, gender, age, occupation or political orientation, there is a pattern in our research participants’ narratives, in which they chose to capture images of hope and connectedness in photography, while disclosing experiences of intercommunity tensions in their interviews and informal conversations

Summary

Introduction

Using visual and oral approaches, this article presents new findings on the social construction of place and belonging in the aftermath of the UK’s Brexit Referendum. “Can you take a photo of myself standing next to my photo?” asked Elisabete, proud of the image she had captured of her cat (Figure 1), on display in the Lady Paine’s Bedchamber of the Strangers’ Hall Museum in Norwich during Refugee Week 2017. This was exactly one year after the Brexit Referendum that had taken place on 23 June 2016. Theuerkauf (Figure 3) and international businesses (Figure 4)—which Elisabete described as representing “cultural and economic complicity.”

Methods

Findings

Conclusion