Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, London
Permanent installation
You have been in one. Probably more than one. If tall, you would have likely stood in the back row. They are among the most common types of image in the world: school photographs.
Ties Through Time is a permanent installation comprising 232 photographs and accompanying interpretative text.
This major photographic installation was unveiled on the 250th anniversary of the founding of Queen Elizabeth’s School.
Dating from 1880 to the recent past, the 232 vernacular photographs capture historical change. Uniforms, haircuts, and even posture each tell a particular story of a different era. The installation also charts the development of camera technology.
The photographs are arranged in a carefully randomised grid. This is done to resist any notion of the inexorable, unidirectional march of history. By highlighting the things that tie us together through time, the installation instead promotes a transhistorical association with our predecessors.
Curator: Surya Bowyer
Design: Bisset Adams
Fabrication: MX Design
Supported by the late Richard Newton.
Surya Bowyer 