Nudrat Afza’s photographic journey began in the mid-1980s, walking the streets of her own neighbourhood in Manningham and the surrounding communities of Bradford. As a self-taught photographer with no formal art training, she initially operated in complete isolation, carrying borrowed or loaned cameras like the Canon AE-1. Because she lacked access to a darkroom, she began shooting exclusively on color negative film, processing her work at ordinary high street printing shops. Though color photography was rarely taken seriously by the artistic establishment at the time, it was a practical, accessible path that allowed her to find her voice.
This gallery contains some of her earliest, most challenging, and highly acclaimed social documentary works. It features “Girl with Doll” (1986), a photograph taken in a deprived street off Manningham Lane home to a vibrant Bangladeshi community. The image captures a young British South Asian girl named Halima proudly holding a broken, white-skinned doll with disheveled hair and bright blue eyes, its dress held together by a simple safety pin. This single, powerful frame encapsulates deep undercurrents of race, class, and gender in post-industrial Britain.
Also included is the gravity-defying “Girl Skipping”. Shot on black and white negative film during a small commission in Glodwick, Oldham, it captures a young South Asian girl mid-air, her skipping rope mirroring the brick door arches of typical northern terraced houses. The image possesses a striking, spiritual quality that elevates everyday street play into an act of pure joy.
Category:
Date:
19 May 2021
