Exhibition at Peer Gallery Chronicles Hackney's Political Art Legacy from 1970s-80s

An exhibition titled 'we are a group of people composed of who we are' at Peer gallery in London examines political art and activism in Hackney during the 1970s and 1980s. The show features archival material from the Hackney Flashers collective, including correspondence with photographer Neil Martinson from November 20, 1975, who emphasized that images alone cannot convey political messages. Centerprise, a cooperatively run Hackney bookshop and community center founded in 1971, produced much of the displayed material before closing in 2012. Works include documentary film 'Somewhere in Hackney' (1980) by Ron Orders, showing political discussions at the center, and two 1975 acrylic-on-wood paintings by antiracist campaigner Dan Jones, previously displayed in his Cable Street home. The exhibition includes materials from photographer Ingrid Pollard, the Hackney Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and references to feminist magazine Spare Rib (1972-1993). A new mural by political activist Jacob V Joyce features Vivian Usherwood, Hackney Gutter Press, and the Black Lesbian Group. Peer director Ellen Greig notes public engagement with the mural and reflections on Hackney's transformation, with current average house prices at £650,000. The show argues that political defeats of the left in the 1970s-80s ended an art model valuing democratic creative expression. It runs through September 9, contrasting past community activism with contemporary gentrification.