Burnthouse Lane explores the concept of ‘home’ amid a period of migration and cultural change through Michelle Sank’s photographs of the famous Exeter estate.
Built in the 1920s to rehouse those displaced from the West Quarter slum, the Burnthouse Lane estate reflects broader societal shifts in the UK throughout the last century. The photographic series presents Exeter in a parallel reality – physically near, yet shaped by displacement, economic migration, and cultural transformation. These images offer intimate glimpses into real-life experiences of community history, rebuilding identity, and a sense of home. Sank’s tender lens captures this simultaneous existence – rooted in resilience, dislocation, and adaptation – offering a profound reflection on human nature and the ever-shifting meaning of belonging.
Community centres in the UK face challenges but offer vital services. We will accept contributions via proceeds or sealed, in-date food items for the Wonford Community & Learning Centre during the exhibition. For more information, visit bit.ly/burnthouselane.
ARTIST
Michelle Sank was born in South Africa and settled in Exeter in 1987. She cites this background as informing her interest in sub-cultures and the exploration of contemporary social issues and challenges. Her crafted portraits and landscapes meld place and person creating sociological, visual and psychological narratives.
CURATORS
MHB is an artist who curates to make art more accessible by challenging the ideologies around cultural spaces.
Sara Fajardo is a Mexican curator and documentary photographer whose work traces the intersection of art and the human experience through both lens and exhibition space.
Tong Dai is an emerging curator from Wen Zhou, China.
Xiaoqi Liu is a painter, creator and curator.
