Three men featured in a photograph taken 35 years ago have described their experience as “surreal” after the image became part of a major exhibition at Tate Britain.
Mark De-Lisser, Edmund Rudder, and Marcellous Copeland were students at Tulse Hill School in 1989 when award-winning photographer Ingrid Pollard captured their portrait.
Pollard was invited by an English teacher at the south London boys’ school to document its students just a year before it closed.
For the first time, her photos from Tulse Hill School are being displayed in the UK as part of The 80s: Photographing Britain exhibition, which opens on Thursday.
The exhibition explores the social and economic landscape of Britain during Margaret Thatcher’s tenure and how photographers responded to the changes of the era.
Reflecting on the significance of the image, Mr. Copeland said, “I’m very proud to see the pictures here and what they represent.
Tulse Hill School was about differences, but everyone pulling together. It was a fantastic, yet challenging, time.”
The trio only discovered their involvement in the exhibition after spotting a BBC London news story. “Someone sent me a message asking, ‘Is this you?’” recalled Mr. De-Lisser.
Mr. Rudder added, “Messages started coming in from people we hadn’t spoken to in years.”
Despite the difficulties of their school years, the men spoke fondly of the enduring friendships and committed teachers that shaped their experiences.
“Tulse Hill was described as a ‘school of hard knocks,’ and some really had to fight to survive,” Mr. Rudder said. “But we had good times and were privileged in ways others might not have been.”
Pollard, who reunited with the three men ahead of the exhibition’s launch, described the subjects in the photograph as being at a “delicate stage of being boys and men at the same time.” She added, “Seeing them together now, they seem really happy. Their faces are the same, but they’re much taller than I remember.”
For the men, seeing their youthful selves displayed in a gallery has been an extraordinary experience. “It’s really surreal,” said Mr. Rudder. “But it’s a powerful reminder of a unique time in our lives.”
The The 80s: Photographing Britain exhibition runs at Tate Britain, offering visitors a glimpse into a transformative decade through the lens of iconic photographers.
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