James Barnor, Past, Present, Future

A new series of films celebrating the work and legacy of British-Ghanaian photographer James Barnor will be presented by CIRCA in collaboration with Serpentine on the Piccadilly Lights screen throughout April: revisiting the past to shoot a new cover for Vogue Italia (ideated by Ferdinando Verderi), a photographic archive remixed for today (created by Olu Michael Odukoya) and a future showcase of creative talent on the rise from Africa and the diaspora (curated by Culture Art Society) ‘Past, Present, Future’ celebrates Barnors archive as a fertile body of work that continues to inspire emerging artists today.

Barnor’s studio portraiture, photojournalism and lifestyle photography spans six decades and has gained increasing recognition as among the most important records of societies in transition during the postwar period.

The presentation of Barnor’s work on the Piccadilly Lights screen completes a journey that began more than half a century ago, when Barnor photographed BBC Africa Service presenter Mike Eghan against the backdrop of Piccadilly’s neon signs in 1967. That electrifying image was the inspiration behind Ferdinando Verderi’s Vogue Italia cover, with Barnor remote-shooting model Adwoa Aboah standing in the exact same location to create a present reflection on the past.

This is the first partnership between CIRCA and a major gallery to find new collaborative ways of presenting world-leading artists in the public realm. Serpentine will host a major survey of Barnor’s work James Barnor: Accra/London – A Retrospective from 19 May (dates subject to government guidelines). Focusing on the period 1950-1980, the exhibition selects from more than 40,000 available images, all distinguished by Barnor’s unmistakable eye and indelible connection to his sitters.

Barnor’s ‘Past, Present, Future’ will be broadcast in three films, each showing for 10 days, throughout April:

Past (1-10 April) A visual journey through Barnor’s photographs taken in London throughout the 1960s, directed by Ferdinando Verderi, Creative Director of Vogue Italia, from Black models such as Erlin Ibreck and Marie Hallowi, to street observations of Pearly Kings and Covent Garden market traders, culminating with the making of a present day Vogue Italia cover.

Present (11-20 April) London-based creative director Olu Michael Odukoya will revisit and reinvent the archive of James Barnor exploring three themes that have synergies jointly across Barnor’s and Odukoya’s work using sound performance, video, animation and graphics.

Future (21-30 April) A spotlight on five emerging photographers from Africa and the diaspora: David Nana Opoku Ansah, Silvia Rosi, Thabiso Sekgala, Adama Jalloh and Lebohang Kganye, curated by Culture Art Society (CAS) to reflect on their shared trajectories to Barnor’s archive, and supported with funds raised by the #CIRCAECONOMY.

James Barnor is one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century, whose images chart the social, cultural and political transformations that shaped Ghana, Britain and the wider African diaspora in the decades following the Second World War. Across a career spanning more than seventy years, he has created an extraordinary body of work that captures moments of independence, migration, aspiration and self-expression with warmth, dignity and optimism.

Born in Accra in 1929, Barnor established the celebrated Ever Young Studio in the early 1950s, documenting a generation coming of age as Ghana moved towards independence. His portraits reflected a society embracing modernity and change, while his work as Ghana’s first newspaper photojournalist captured the energy and ambition of a nation in formation. After moving to London in 1959, Barnor continued photographing for Drum magazine, creating one of the most significant visual records of African and Caribbean life in post-war Britain. From fashion and music to everyday street life, his photographs offered a rare and nuanced representation of communities that were largely absent from mainstream media.

In 2021, Barnor collaborated with CIRCA and Serpentine on Past, Present, Future, a month-long public exhibition presented on Piccadilly Lights that celebrated the enduring influence of his archive across generations. Structured as a journey through time, the programme brought together a presentation of Barnor’s historic photographs edited by Vogue Italia Creative Director Ferdinando Verderi, a contemporary reimagining of the archive by Olu Michael Odukoya, and a future-facing showcase of emerging photographers from Africa and the diaspora curated by Culture Art Society. At its centre was Barnor’s first-ever Vogue Italia cover, featuring Adwoa Aboah photographed in Piccadilly Circus more than fifty years after Barnor’s iconic portrait of BBC Africa Service presenter Mike Eghan was made in the same location. Together, the project transformed Piccadilly Lights into a public celebration of Barnor’s legacy while demonstrating the continued relevance of his vision for contemporary image-makers today.

Though recognition arrived later in life, Barnor’s work is now held in major public and private collections worldwide and has been the subject of landmark exhibitions at institutions including Serpentine, Tate and Autograph. His photographs remain remarkable not only as historical documents, but as enduring celebrations of style, identity, creativity and cultural exchange. Through an unwavering belief in the potential of people and photography alike, James Barnor created an archive that continues to connect generations, continents and communities.