Bank Holiday, Brighton 1933

Curator: Charles Cundall’s “Bank Holiday, Brighton” feels like a hazy memory. A wash of sunlight over a bustling crowd… almost dreamlike, isn’t it? Editor: Absolutely, but I see more than just nostalgia. Consider the context: Cundall captures a very specific slice of British society at leisure, the bank holiday being a hard-won right for the working class. Curator: Right, but look at the sheer joy painted into those tiny figures. The composition itself seems to celebrate the energy of the crowd. Editor: And who is allowed to participate in this joy? Whose labor made this leisure possible? These are also painted into the picture, as absences and erasures. Curator: Perhaps. Still, I love how he captures the fleeting atmosphere, the promise of a seaside escape in the ordinary. Editor: It’s a valuable snapshot of a moment, definitely. But remembering who's in the frame, and crucially, who isn't, adds vital layers of understanding.