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Introducing Autograph’s new exhibition of work from Eileen Perrier, considering issues of class, cultural identity and belonging through photographic portraiture
Our new exhibition Eileen Perrier: A Thousand Small Stories brings together three decades of work, reflecting on cultural identity and notions of belonging to acknowledge the profound value of being seen. Here we introduce the exhibition and answer four quick questions that are key to the show.
The exhibition is on display and free to visit at Autograph until 13 September 2025.
Eileen was born in London in 1974. She has been a photographer and teacher of photography since the late 1990s. She takes influence from artists including Armet Francis, Joy Gregory and Samuel Fosso amongst others. Other influences include life and fashion magazines such as ID, The Face and Vogue. In turn, Eileen has influenced generations of photographers as an artist and lecturer in photography.
She says: "I was born and raised in London coming from a cultural background of Ghanaian and Dominican parentage. This dual heritage has presented me with questions around placement, cultural identity and diversity.”
This exhibition is the first retrospective of Eileen’s photography, and brings together three decades of her work including some of her most celebrated series. Black hair and beauty are central concerns for a number of series on display, including Afro Hair and Beauty Show (1998-2003), Afro Hair and Beauty Products (1998-99), and Grace (2000).
Eileen also addresses her dual diasporic heritage through series of work including Ghana (1995-96) and Red, Gold and Green (1996-97). You can view an image gallery featuring a selection of works from Red, Gold and Green here.
On the occasion of the exhibition, Autograph has commissioned Eileen to produce a new body of work, titled Twenty-Two, which is displayed on the building’s exterior walls. This new series of striking portraits depicts Eileen’s son and his childhood friends as they enter adulthood, to examine generational perspectives on change and self-discovery.
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Throughout her career, the history of photography and issues of representation have been points of fascination and departure for Eileen’s practice.
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Colour has played an important role in Eileen’s work since her trip to Ghana in the mid-1990s. During her visit, Eileen came to realise that much of her mental imagery of the country and west Africa more generally was informed by photographs produced by charities or reportage photographers, typically shot in black and white and depicting war and other distressing scenes. By utilising colour, Eileen sought to humanise the people she met and capture the vibrant culture surrounding her.
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Featured in the exhibition is a selection of work from the 2014 series Peckham Square Studio. For this series, Eileen set up a portable studio in Peckham Square, South East London, where she invited residents and passers-by to pose for portraits. The studio set-up was inspired by 19th-century photography techniques and included the use of a large-format camera and a Victorian-inspired ‘hidden headrest’, intended to help keep the sitter still during the lengthy process of posing for a portrait in the nineteenth century.
However, Eileen’s images provide a stark contrast to the rigid portraits that were often captured in the Victorian era and challenge the racist uses of early photography in eugenics campaigns and anthropological ‘studies’. Instead, Eileen celebrates Black beauty and diversity.
Eileen is a senior lecturer in photography, and teaching plays an important role in her practice. As Eileen explains: "The experience I have gained from my teaching in terms of my own art practice reminds me of the passage we all take, either as a student or artist, when producing a new body of work. We have to be inspired by something, research, take images / produce work and develop this project over a period of time before we are able to reach our destination and share our work to a wider audience."¹
Eileen’s exhibition runs alongside Belonging and Beyond, an exhibition of work by artist and teacher Dianne Minnicucci, which also explores the value of creating work within and beyond the classroom environment.
17 Apr - 13 Sep 2025
A free exhibition contemplating class, cultural identity and belonging through the photographic portrait
17 Apr - 13 Sep 2025
A free exhibition asking: what does it mean to be unguarded? What do we reveal of ourselves to each other?
¹ Interview with Eileen Perrier for Dodge and Burn, 6 October 2014: https://www.eileenperrier.com/blog/photographer-interview-eileen-perrier
Banner image: Eileen Perrier, from the series Ghana [detail], 1995-96. © and courtesy the artist.
Images on page: 1) Image of Eileen Perrier, courtesy Eileen Perrier. 2-7) Eileen Perrier, from the series Red, Gold and Green, 1996-97. © and courtesy the artist. 8) Eileen Perrier, from the series Ghana, 1995-96. © and courtesy the artist. 9) Eileen Perrier, from the series Peckham Square Studio, 2014. Commissioned by Peckham Platform. © and courtesy the artist and Autograph, London. 10) Eileen Perrier, from the series Ghana [detail], 1995-96. © and courtesy the artist. 11) Dianne Minnicucci, from the series Belonging and Beyond [detail], 2025. © and courtesy the artist.
Autograph is a place to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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