Katie Webb

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As Europe enters its second lockdown, we republish a portfolio of photographs taken by artists under the first lockdown in spring

Julian Germain, Portsmouth: “I shot this as part of an ongoing story about Charlie, an elderly gentleman, in his terraced house in Portsmouth. It was a kind of sanctuary for both of us, albeit in different ways. Charlie lived in almost serene isolation, surrounding himself with things that provided pleasure and comfort, such as colour, flowers from his small back garden and photographs, especially of his late wife Betty. He genuinely appreciated his cups of strong tea, jam sandwiches and listening to just two or three tracks off a Nat King Cole record. At a time in my life when I was extremely busy and ambitious, I think I was attracted to his acceptance of life as it was and the enduring satisfaction he got from simple, everyday things.”
Julian Germain, Portsmouth: “I shot this as part of an ongoing story about Charlie, an elderly gentleman, in his terraced house in Portsmouth. It was a kind of sanctuary for both of us, albeit in different ways. Charlie lived in almost serene isolation, surrounding himself with things that provided pleasure and comfort, such as colour, flowers from his small back garden and photographs, especially of his late wife Betty. He genuinely appreciated his cups of strong tea, jam sandwiches and listening to just two or three tracks off a Nat King Cole record. At a time in my life when I was extremely busy and ambitious, I think I was attracted to his acceptance of life as it was and the enduring satisfaction he got from simple, everyday things.” © Still life, Whistling Kettle, from the series For Every Minute You Are Angry You Lose Sixty Seconds of Happiness, Published by Mack, © Julian Germain
Alex Cretey Systermans, 13th arrondissement, Paris: “For me, home isn’t a place. It’s that beautiful living creature that we are constantly keeping alive by how we dwell as a family.”
Alex Cretey Systermans, 13th arrondissement, Paris: “For me, home isn’t a place. It’s that beautiful living creature that we are constantly keeping alive by how we dwell as a family.”
From left: Peter Langer, Kurfürstenstrasse, Berlin: “At home in the morning when I wake up, I reflect on the day ahead and aspire to use it to keep a wide open heart and mind. At the end of the day before going to sleep, I think over what I’ve done.”
Peter Langer, Kurfürstenstrasse, Berlin: “At home in the morning when I wake up, I reflect on the day ahead and aspire to use it to keep a wide open heart and mind. At the end of the day before going to sleep, I think over what I’ve done.”
Camille Vivier, grandmother’s house, Paris: “Home is a place for inspiration, full of night thoughts, childhood memories, joy and calm.”
Camille Vivier, grandmother’s house, Paris: “Home is a place for inspiration, full of night thoughts, childhood memories, joy and calm.”
Guen Fiore, Montesilvano, Abruzzo, Italy: “I’ve been traveling a lot in the past year, and I felt nostalgia for a place that I could call home – the place where I grew up, where everything is familiar and everything has a story.”
Guen Fiore, Montesilvano, Abruzzo, Italy: “I’ve been traveling a lot in the past year, and I felt nostalgia for a place that I could call home – the place where I grew up, where everything is familiar and everything has a story.”
Juergen Teller, Bubenreuth, Bavaria, Germany, 2002: “The party cellar in our house. It used to be a pirate bar, a sailor’s cave, made out of cardboard, the sea somehow glued onto the walls. There were wild nights, loud music, card games. Then my grandfather made a Märchenstüberl [fairytale den] out of it. He carved fairytales, like Snow White, on the wall. This picture is one of my first self-portraits. I somehow wanted to be in the Märchenstüberl.”
Juergen Teller, Bubenreuth, Bavaria, Germany, 2002: “The party cellar in our house. It used to be a pirate bar, a sailor’s cave, made out of cardboard, the sea somehow glued onto the walls. There were wild nights, loud music, card games. Then my grandfather made a Märchenstüberl [fairytale den] out of it. He carved fairytales, like Snow White, on the wall. This picture is one of my first self-portraits. I somehow wanted to be in the Märchenstüberl.” © Selbstporträt: Head Behind Lamp, Bubenreuth, Germany 2002, © Juergen Teller, all rights reserved
Eleonora Agostini Mirano, near Venice: “Home is an image of protection, intimacy and secure confinement. A safe playground to experiment with time. I’ve recently started talking to my neighbour’s parrot and I am wondering if he thinks I am copying him. We keep repeating each other’s words and it is quite reassuring knowing exactly what he will say.”
Eleonora Agostini Mirano, near Venice: “Home is an image of protection, intimacy and secure confinement. A safe playground to experiment with time. I’ve recently started talking to my neighbour’s parrot and I am wondering if he thinks I am copying him. We keep repeating each other’s words and it is quite reassuring knowing exactly what he will say.”
Hannah Starkey, St Katharine Docks, London: “Home is where the heart is, it’s where I am now. Looking out the window, waving to neighbours either self-isolating or keeping a 2m distance. It’s a very strange experience to sit looking out the window on a world that is on lockdown from Covid-19.”
Hannah Starkey, St Katharine Docks, London: “Home is where the heart is, it’s where I am now. Looking out the window, waving to neighbours either self-isolating or keeping a 2m distance. It’s a very strange experience to sit looking out the window on a world that is on lockdown from Covid-19.”
Jo Metson Scott, Souffrignac, Charente, France: “I love the familiar rituals of home: the way I take my shoes off when I return, the way I stand in the kitchen to look out the window, the way my daughter scrambles up the stairs to wake me in the morning. The place can change, but the rituals stay familiar and secure.”
Jo Metson Scott, Souffrignac, Charente, France: “I love the familiar rituals of home: the way I take my shoes off when I return, the way I stand in the kitchen to look out the window, the way my daughter scrambles up the stairs to wake me in the morning. The place can change, but the rituals stay familiar and secure.”
From top: Stefan Giftthaler, near Montebelluna, Veneto, Italy: “Home to me is those places to which I immediately feel a strong connection, even if I have never been there before. These places take me back to a sort of lost memory, giving a feeling of nostalgia for something I don’t quite remember. Some places are like open doors to those feelings.”
From top: Stefan Giftthaler, near Montebelluna, Veneto, Italy: “Home to me is those places to which I immediately feel a strong connection, even if I have never been there before. These places take me back to a sort of lost memory, giving a feeling of nostalgia for something I don’t quite remember. Some places are like open doors to those feelings.”
Lydia Goldblatt, parents’ garden, Hampstead, London: “Home is an intimacy, a space that endures beyond the tilt of the day. It is origin, memory, future and the knowledge that I am myself through others.”
Lydia Goldblatt, parents’ garden, Hampstead, London: “Home is an intimacy, a space that endures beyond the tilt of the day. It is origin, memory, future and the knowledge that I am myself through others.”
Barbara Probst, Nederlinger Strasse, Munich: “Home is, for me, where the outside world becomes abstract and my inner world becomes real.”
Barbara Probst, Nederlinger Strasse, Munich: “Home is, for me, where the outside world becomes abstract and my inner world becomes real.”
Maisie Cousins, Walthamstow, London: “Home is a body: the kitchen the brain, the bedroom the heart, the garden the lungs.”
Maisie Cousins, Walthamstow, London: “Home is a body: the kitchen the brain, the bedroom the heart, the garden the lungs.”
Amanda Harlech, Shropshire: “All paths ultimately lead nowhere, but a home has the hearts of those that live there.”
Amanda Harlech, Shropshire: “All paths ultimately lead nowhere, but a home has the hearts of those that live there.”
Daisuke Hamada, Fukasawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo: “I see home as a space for peace of mind with my family and feeling comfortable with my life.”
Daisuke Hamada, Fukasawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo: “I see home as a space for peace of mind with my family and feeling comfortable with my life.”
Nick Knight, Richmond, London, 1996: “Home is a house full of love.”
Nick Knight, Richmond, London, 1996: “Home is a house full of love.” © Image courtesy of Nick Knight
Edouard Jacquinet, Annecy, France, July 2013: “I was born and grew up in a small city in France in the Alps called Annecy. The city is on the shore of a lake surrounded by the mountains. This is where I feel ‘home’.”
Edouard Jacquinet, Annecy, France, July 2013: “I was born and grew up in a small city in France in the Alps called Annecy. The city is on the shore of a lake surrounded by the mountains. This is where I feel ‘home’.” Vivek Vadoliya, parents’ home, Stevenage:
Cass Bird, Brooklyn, New York: “This is an image I took in my backyard with the model Dilone and my kids. It was a warm summer night and we were hanging out and having fun.”
Cass Bird, Brooklyn, New York: “This is an image I took in my backyard with the model Dilone and my kids. It was a warm summer night and we were hanging out and having fun.”
Brigitte Niedermair, view from kitchen, Meran, South Tirol: “My house in the mountains looks onto a river. And from there, among the trees, I watch time wrap them in ever-changing colours. And I think of Joseph Beuys’ call for the defence of nature.”
Brigitte Niedermair, view from kitchen, Meran, South Tirol: “My house in the mountains looks onto a river. And from there, among the trees, I watch time wrap them in ever-changing colours. And I think of Joseph Beuys’ call for the defence of nature.”
From top: Nikolai von Bismarck, Bayswater, London: “Home under coronavirus is, for me, time for long-neglected puzzles and half-remembered books.”
From top: Nikolai von Bismarck, Bayswater, London: “Home under coronavirus is, for me, time for long-neglected puzzles and half-remembered books.”
Dudi Hasson, Provence, France: “A home for me is a collection of memories, a place of security and honesty.”
Dudi Hasson, Provence, France: “A home for me is a collection of memories, a place of security and honesty.”
Federico Ciamei, Milan: “Home is wherever I am with the people I care about.”
Federico Ciamei, Milan: “Home is wherever I am with the people I care about.” © Federico Ciamei
Kuba Ryniewicz, Montagu Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne: “My home is an extension of my mind – some people may call it Jumanji. I travel a lot and from every trip I bring back a suitcase full of objects. The one in this picture is a ceramic ewer from Lebanon. It’s great to be surrounded by such objects at home because each single one has a story to tell as well as its daily function.”
Kuba Ryniewicz, Montagu Estate, Newcastle upon Tyne: “My home is an extension of my mind – some people may call it Jumanji. I travel a lot and from every trip I bring back a suitcase full of objects. The one in this picture is a ceramic ewer from Lebanon. It’s great to be surrounded by such objects at home because each single one has a story to tell as well as its daily function.” © Kuba Ryniewicz
Linda Brownlee, Sanxenxo, Galicia, Spain: “Home is many things, but most of all right now, it’s about being with my children and partner, wherever that is.’’
Linda Brownlee, Sanxenxo, Galicia, Spain: “Home is many things, but most of all right now, it’s about being with my children and partner, wherever that is.’’
Dan Wilton, Walthamstow, London: “Home is currently ruled by a three-year-old and a baby… Help!”
Dan Wilton, Walthamstow, London: “Home is currently ruled by a three-year-old and a baby… Help!”
Vivek Vadoliya: “Home for me is a fluctuating juxtaposition between chaos and comfort. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Vivek Vadoliya: “Home for me is a fluctuating juxtaposition between chaos and comfort. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Chris Brooks, grandparents’ house, Derby: “Home to me has always been quite an abstract concept – I lost my father when I was young and my mother vanished not long after. I’ve pretty much been on the move ever since then and not many places have felt like home. My feeling is it’s a place where you can rest, think and begin to replenish your soul… aided by reading, listening, art.”
Chris Brooks, grandparents’ house, Derby: “Home to me has always been quite an abstract concept – I lost my father when I was young and my mother vanished not long after. I’ve pretty much been on the move ever since then and not many places have felt like home. My feeling is it’s a place where you can rest, think and begin to replenish your soul… aided by reading, listening, art.” © From Shakespeare Street, a forthcoming publication by The Brooks Press
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