What is British Identity Anyway?
Jeremy Deller, Depeche Mode and other thoughts on art this week
This past couple of weeks I’ve been deeply engrossed in fine-tuning my teaching content for the Spring semester, which has led me along some fascinating research paths, and to a reignited obsession with the electronic music band Depeche Mode. More on that later.
For many years I’ve taught a history of modern and contemporary art module to American undergraduates who are in London for their study abroad programme. Last semester I started teaching a new course on modern British history, which has sparked all sorts of cross-fertilising ideas that I hope will make the two modules really rich and interesting for my students. In particular, thinking about ideas in modern British history has reaffirmed for me just how valuable and underused artworks are as historical evidence for providing insights into cultural, social, political, and economic contexts and ideas from the past. And how we might understand ourselves better today.
One of the enduring myths of Britain is its role as a civilising force in the world, a country that brought prosperity, education and peace to millions of people throughout its imperial territories. Politicians today like to wax lyrical about the British values of fairness and decency, how respect, tolerance and the rule of law are embedded in our history and national fabric, as though the impetus driving everything we have ever done hasn’t been about protecting British economic interests and making money in the most ruthless way. British imperialism over the centuries spread little except slavery, violence and disease, and centred on economic exploitation, the stripping of other countries’ assets, and political subjugation. And it’s all there as evidence in art.
I’ve been thinking about how to present alternative views and definitions of Britishness to my history students, and who better to turn to than the contemporary artist Jeremy Deller. His work often explores themes related to British culture, history, and social issues. Deller is particularly interested in creating art that involves and reflects the experiences of everyday people.
One of Deller’s most famous artworks is The Battle of Orgreave from 2001, in which he organised a re-enactment of the clash between striking coal miners and the police during the 1984 miners' strike in the UK. The re-enactment involved over 800 participants, including former miners, activists, and members of the public. He documented it in a film, combining his footage with archival material from the original confrontation.
The project aimed to explore issues related to collective memory, historical representation, and the impact of political and social events on communities. Militarised policing at protests like this is one of the legacies of Margaret Thatcher’s government from the 1980s. This particular event still generates the most passionate emotional responses in people whose lives and communities were affected by it. Deller's work sparked discussions about the legacy of the miners' strike and its broader implications for British society, and it’s an example of how art can be used to revisit and reinterpret historical events.
Artworks like this encourage reflection and dialogue about the past and its impact on the present — something that is absolutely essential if we’re going to address the prejudices and overcome the differences between people in our society. After all, history looks at the past but it’s only relevant because it’s about understanding the issues going on in our world today.
Like a lot of conceptual artists, Jeremy Deller has been widely criticized for his lack of technical skill. But he’s so straight up about that, and doesn’t really care that he can’t draw for toffee. For him art is all about the ideas, and it doesn’t matter to him that other people actually make his work. In this video he talks about this, and about how his art addresses ideas around British identity:
I think his art is wonderfully provocative and political and I’ll definitely be using his Battle of Orgreave film in my teaching about Thatcher and the rise of neoliberalism this semester. I’m looking forward to hearing what my students make of it.
I’m also trying to figure out how to include Deller’s brilliant documentary film Our Hobby is Depeche Mode from 2006, which explores the band's impact on people's lives and the intense devotion of its fanbase. Depeche Mode is a British band that first became big in the 1980s, and if nothing else you’ve probably heard their catchy tune Just Can’t Get Enough:
The documentary features interviews with Depeche Mode fans from all around the world, capturing their personal stories and the profound influence that the band's music has had on them. At its heart is an exploration of how music can become a significant and transformative part of people's identities. It’s amazing what music means to people. I related to so much of it, and this week I’ve been bingeing on Depeche Mode’s back catalogue. Taylor Swift has finally been knocked off her number one position in my Spotify playlist. The film is mad and joyful, and does all the good things for me that art can do. Any ideas on how I can legitimately weave it into my teaching will be gratefully received…
As always, Gallery Companions, I’d love to know what you think about any of the ideas and art I’ve talked about here.
Where to start Vic! Another brilliant post, but so many thoughts and questions.
I'm going to lead out by saying thank you for popping Depeche Mode into my head on Sunday, arguably one of the best bands out there, Gore's lyrcis are a psychological wonder around obsession that lead to obsession (another topic for another time!).
The re-enactment of Orgreave by Deller has so many layers, I love how he's weaved the older footage through and we see the 'unfolding' of the re-enactment. What stands out for me as a psychologist is how the 'us and them' develops, something we call in and out group bias related to our social identity. I love how the 'actors' are re-telling their stories as part of the battle preparation -it's super clever, not just for building momentum of the performance, but what Deller has done here is to build credibility (or in art speak provenance) to the performance art, it anchors the whole video for me.
To loop back to your article though, and British values, Dellers work provides another layer to interpret our sense of identity. An ex-miner talks about losing his home, a soldier talks about the orders/ uncertainty around who knew about them, we see a shifting narrative where reality/fear and suspicion co-exist. All of this makes our sense of self or identity less stable, and confusion comes from knowing who is in/on our side, not just reserved for the 80's.
Do British Values provide us with some certainty in an uncertain world, a type of sticky glue to keep things together (if you believe in fabricated nostaglia that is...) is this what makes values alluring to politicians as a vehicle in asserting power over many people?
As for wedging Depeche mode into neoliberalism, what about the enduring popularity of their music against the backdrop of consumption through digital platforms and the surveillance (data collection) that’s comes with it?
Such a great question and what better way to investigate a people than through art. I'm intrigued by the mandatory inclusion of 'British Values' in the UK's national education curriculum and what that really means as well. I wish that the focus of the written curriculum there would include a look at British art as part of the investigation. I'm sure some educators do, but it's disappointingly not required as far as I know. I'll take more time with all your great links. Thank you.