Let me make myself clear, I am not complaining about my situation, on the contrary, it is advantageous.

I was born in Jamaica, my ancestors are from Africa and I now resident in England. I am basically a photographer.

I went back to Jamaica in 1969 and the photographs that I took there clarified for me the broad-based problem of Black people. A few years later I went to Senegal, West Africa. In both countries my key points were the market places. It struck me that I had photographed the same women in both markets - not literally, but nevertheless the same person.

- Armet Francis

Armet Francis came to England from Jamaica at the age of eight. He went to school in London and on leaving had a number of short- term jobs before beginning to learn the craft of photography by working as an assistant. He began working as a freelancer in the late sixties covering fashion, advertising and reportage and was published in various magazines including The Sunday Times, The Africa Magazine, Gens L'Afrique.

He had his first one-man exhibition at the Commonwealth Institute in 1974 and an exhibition of photographs and paintings at the Jamaican High Commission in 1975. He has also exhibited in Nigeria and was one of six black photographers in the British Council's Black and White Exhibition which toured for a year throughout the West Indies.

He has had further exhibitions at the Jamaican High Commission and has also participated regularly in various community projects by putting on exhibitions and giving lectures and workshops in schools. Some of the projects he has worked with include the Afro-Caribbean Resource Project (ILEA), the Abeng Community Centre in Brixton, the Sombarr Black Bookfair and Exhibition and the Merton Amenities.

Written by Sue Davies, Director

For further information on this and past exhibitions, visit our Archive and Study Room.