It could be argued that we live in an age of accelerating fragmentation of identity, community, and even attention, which makes the question of how we live in the modern era one of some urgency. The exhibition The Way We Live at GALLERY46 gathers internationally acclaimed photographers – David Spero, Nicholas Hopkins, Nick Berkely and Anna Best, and Tom Hunter – precisely to explore this prescient societal issue from multiple vantage points; looking closely at the structures, rituals, improvisations and spaces that define human life. Through the lenses of these image makers we are invited to witness the domestic reframed as a site of politics, the everyday as an act of resistance, and the built environment as both prison and possibility. Curators Kate Kotcheff and Ian Wright have brought together artists whose work resists spectacle in favour of depth. These photographs don’t just depict life; they ask what it takes to live it meaningfully. Themes of autonomy, memory, and community reverberate across the exhibition as you explore its many rooms – one finds traces of utopia in the self-built homes of intentional communities, echoes of theatre in the intimate gestures of urban portraiture, and ruptures in history folded into the image making itself. Together, the works illuminate the tension between the lives we inherit and the lives we make. As gallery director Martin Tickner acutely observes: "The Way We Live speaks to the human impulse to define a life on one’s own terms, even when those terms are fragile, improvised, or at odds with dominant narratives. In bringing together these five artistic practices, each distinct, yet resonant — the exhibition sketches a layered response to one of the most persistent questions of our time. In the end, The Way We Live reflects us back to ourselves, not with clarity, but with complexity." Here, the curators of the exhibition introduce House Collective Journal to the artists presenting works in the show.
David Spero
London based David Spero has been documenting alternative communities since 2004 in his ‘Settlements’ series. Focusing on four groups located in Somerset, Devon and Wales, the series follows individuals who have chosen to live ‘off-grid’, building low-impact, land-based lifestyles rooted in ecological sustainability. Their goal is to create habitats; economies and ways of living that minimize environmental impact. Spero’s work has been collected internationally by major public institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. National Media Museum. Citibank Collection, London. British Council and MACRO, Rome.
Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning artist working in photography and film. He is Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of East London. His work is exhibited around the world in leading galleries and museums. His photographic narratives are rooted in everyday life—featuring the people he meets and the environments they inhabit—while reimagining these subjects through the lens of classical painting traditions. By referencing Old Master works, Hunter invites viewers to see beauty and dignity in their lives, challenging common stereotypes and assumptions. Tom Hunter is the first photographer to be shown at the National Portrait Gallery London. His works have been collected by major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), National Gallery London and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Nicholas Hopkins
Nicholas Hopkins is a London based dedicated photographer with an archive of over 60,000 negatives. He has been taking pictures constantly for most of his life. Using minimal equipment, a Leica M6, all images are from film and processed and printed by him. Generally, he attempts to capture the mode and vibe of the time and place one is in and the essence of the way people live. Hopkins has previously exhibited at the Kabinett Gallery, Orion Contemporary and Fiumano Clase Gallery.
Mr & Mrs Berkeley
Anna Best and Nicholas Berkeley are based in Dorset and collaborate here as Mr. & Mrs. Berkeley, placing themselves at the heart of their images...Their practice is inherently performative—each photograph becomes a scene in which they act out layered, often ambiguous narratives. In doing so, they invite viewers into their world, exploring themes such as freedom of expression, magic, healing, privacy, the body and sexual intimacy. Their collaboration coincides with the publication of an A3 book of the same name “56:65: (the sex pictures)”. Berkeley’s work has been shown in Imperial War Museum, Allsop Gallery and Proud Gallery. Best has participated in projects with institutions such as The Barbican Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery, Camden Arts Centre and Tate Modern.
The Way We Live exhibits at Gallery 46 until October 12th.
Images (top to bottom): ‘John, Sonia, Daisy, Marley and Asha’s under construction’, David Spero, Steward Community Woodland, Devon, August 2004; ‘Death of Coltelli’, Tom Hunter, Unheralded Stories series, 2009; ‘The Chair’, Nicholas Hopkins, Bologna, 2004; ‘56/65/13’, 2024/25, Mr & Mrs Berkeley.
