--- description: As Britain's future in Europe remains uncertain, a new photo show takes a look at what British identity means title: A Photographic Ode to British Culture and Identity image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cc81ef53c83fae0/69889ef60b72e300fa6ea557/06-mahtab-hussain-an-ideal-for-living.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Photographic Ode to British Culture and Identity by [Michael Bucher](/author/michael-bucher/) ## Michael Bucher Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2016 2:37 PM CUT  Red hijab, red dress and bling from the series Honest With You, 2013 Red hijab, red dress and bling from the series Honest With You, 2013Mahtab Hussain/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley by [Michael Bucher](/author/michael-bucher/) ## Michael Bucher Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2016 2:37 PM CUT In June, Britons voted in a referendum to leave the European Union, surprising the world and even themselves. The most frequent Google search in the U.K. after the vote was “What does it mean to leave the EU?” Britons now face the consequences of their decision and will determine what it says about their country. This future will be informed by the country’s past – one that has been photographed extensively by the likes of E.O. Hoppé and Martin Parr, who have offered their own take on modern British identity in their photographs. These pictures form the backbone of a new group exhibit, _An Ideal for Living_, curated by Flora La Thangue on show now at the Beetles and Huxley gallery in London. La Thangue traces Great Britain’s last hundred years – burdened by the weight of two costly world wars and a diminished empire – with photographs that express internal issues of class, custom and style. Included are images of leisure, riots, working class neighborhoods and 1960s counter culture, mixed with refreshing hints of British humor. There’s an uncomfortable tension between two waiting parlor maids and the lavished table settings in Bill Brandt’s black and white photograph. Charlie Phillips creates a similar tension in his 1967 portrait of a Notting Hill interracial couple. From urban to rural, landscape to portrait, the selected photographs acknowledge Britain’s diverse experiences and people. As Britain’s new Prime Minister Theresa May initiates the country’s divorce from the E.U., photographers will continue chronicling their country. Their work, like the photographers in this show, will be an important record of this new chapter and contribute to the ever-changing definition of British culture. **_An Ideal for Living: Photographing Culture, Class and Identity in Modern Britain_** _opens on July 27 at_ [_Beetles and Huxley_](http://www.beetlesandhuxley.com/ "undefined") _in London. It runs until Sept. 17._ [**_Michael Bucher_**](http://www.bucherphotography.com/ "undefined") _is a contributor at TIME LightBox._  Parlourmaid and Under Parlourmaid ready to serve dinner 1939 Bill Brandt Archive/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  May Ball, Cambridge, 1983 Jurgen Schadeberg/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Young locals relieving the burned out local pub, "The Window Castle " of its contents the first night of the riots, Brixton, April 1981 Neil Libbert/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Early Spring, Richmond Park, Surrey, 1925 E.O. Hoppé estate Collection/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Soldier seen through shield, Northern Ireland, 1973 Philip Jones Griffiths—Magnum/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Red hijab, red dress and bling from the series Honest With You, 2013 Mahtab Hussain/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  'Mill Girls, Elland, Yorkshire,' 1965 John Bulmer/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Babs, Soho, London, 1987 Derek Ridgers/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Keynes Country Park Beach, Shornecote, Gloucestershire, 11th May 2008 Simon Roberts/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Mayor of Todmorden's inaugural banquet, Calderdale, 1977 Martin Parr—Magnum Photos/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  'Girls Dancing in Wolverhampton Club,' 1978 Chris Steele-Perkins—Magnum/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  'Notting Hill Couple,' 1967 Charlie Phillips/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Glasgow, 1980 Raymond Depardon—Magnum /Courtesy Beetles+Huxley  Picnic in the car park on Derby Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse, June 2001 Peter Dench—Getty Images Reportage/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4419946/brexit-britain-identity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4419946/brexit-britain-identity/"},"headline":"A Photographic Ode to British Culture and Identity","datePublished":"2016-07-25T14:37:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:39:46.735Z","description":"As Britain's future in Europe remains uncertain, a new photo show takes a look at what British identity means","url":"https://time.com/4419946/brexit-britain-identity/","keywords":["LightBox","Britain","london","photography","exhibition","On Our Radar","Martin Parr","Brexit","Theresa May"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cc81ef53c83fae0/69889ef60b72e300fa6ea557/06-mahtab-hussain-an-ideal-for-living.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michael Bucher","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/michael-bucher/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cc81ef53c83fae0/69889ef60b72e300fa6ea557/06-mahtab-hussain-an-ideal-for-living.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"06-mahtab-hussain-an-ideal-for-living","caption":"Red hijab, red dress and bling from the series Honest With You, 2013","creditText":"Mahtab Hussain/Courtesy Beetles+Huxley","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4419946/brexit-britain-identity/","name":"A Photographic Ode to British Culture and Identity"}}]}] ```