Urban Gypsies

The research captured in this publication builds on Wenham-Clarke’s photographic project The Westway: a portrait of the community, exhibited at St Martin’s in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, London in 2013, which included 15 Traveller images. Further ethnographic research into this community resulted in 2019 of a new publication Urban Gypsies.

The research explores the immense socio-political and economic pressures exerted upon a community of Irish Travellers sheltering beneath the A40, a major highway leading into central London. Today very few Travellers in the UK are able to maintain their traditional nomadic lifestyle. Most are restricted to official sites. Over many months Wenham-Clarke gained the Travellers confidence and was granted unprecedented access, immersing himself in the community and becoming a trusted member, invited to attend weddings and christenings. The images provide a unique insight into a community that rarely gives access to outsiders.

Not intended as a survey, the research draws on narrative history, oral history and qualitative research methodologies and explores the experiences of the Travellers over a 40-year period.

Few academic practitioners have been able to conduct such detailed research: the outcomes, negotiated entirely with the community, reveal uncensored views of the Traveller community, a marginalised subjugated group struggling to retain its cultural identity as it is gradually assimilated into the wider population. The project set out to challenge stereotypical views perpetuated by the popular media and highlights what is now perceived to be one of the last forms of ‘acceptable’ racism in Britain today.

The images were disseminated internationally through news websites such as CNN and News.com.au, Marie Claire Magazine and BBC Radio London, reaching a global audience, actively challenging and informing public perceptions, engendering debate and promoting inclusivity.