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After a formative trip to Ghana in 1995, Autograph commissioned Perrier to create the series Red, Gold and Green, deepening her understanding of her mother’s enduring ties in the UK. When her mother separated from her husband in the 1960s, she found support in a close-knit community where distant relatives, school friends and their spouses formed an extended family.
Between 1996 and 1997, Perrier photographed three generations of British Ghanaians alongside extended relatives of Jamaican, Irish, English, and mixed-heritage backgrounds in the front rooms of their London homes. Drawing inspiration from the Ghanaian national flag, Perrier created a makeshift studio using bold, vivid fabrics in red, gold and green as backdrops. The images reveal glimpses of personal spaces including family photographs and cherished keepsakes. Red, Gold, and Green speaks to the power of improvisation, which echoes the long tradition of African studio portraiture.
Perrier’s portraits celebrate the multiplicity of identities within British society, and how shared histories, resilience, and cultural pride shape each generation.
Eileen Perrier (b.1974, London, UK) is an artist with dual Ghanaian and Dominican diasporic heritage, specialising in portraiture. Since the 1990s, she has been a photographer and senior lecturer in photography.
Her work has been widely exhibited, including Centre Pompidou (France); Hayward Gallery (UK); Tate Britain (UK); The Photographers' Gallery (UK); The Whitechapel Gallery (UK). Perrier was an artist in residence at Light Work x Autograph (USA) and Kunsthalle Schirn (Germany). Her works are represented in private and public collections, including Arts Council England (UK); Autograph (UK); Foundling Museum (UK); Light Work (USA); Sindika Dokolo Foundation (Angola); Tate (UK); and Wedge Collection (Canada).
17 Apr - 13 Sep 2025
Free exhibition
Banner image: Eileen Perrier, from the series Red, Gold and Green [detail], 1997. © and courtesy the artist. Commissioned by Autograph, London.
Images on page: Eileen Perrier, from the series Red, Gold and Green, 1997. © and courtesy the artist. Commissioned by Autograph, London.
About the artist: Courtesy Eileen Perrier.
Part of the exhibition image: Eileen Perrier, from the series Ghana [detail], 1995-96. © 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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