Cornwall Lockdown & G7 Impact

"A Grey Area" documents government control, police authority, and the G7's impact on a rural community.

Mark Pearson

Grey Area | noun

An ill-defined situation or area of activity not readily conforming to a category or set of rules.

In 2021, amidst a global lockdown, I embarked on a year-long project documenting the results of governmental restrictions and publicity campaigns in rural Cornwall. My first monograph, "A Grey Area," also explores the notable shift toward authoritarianism by the police and the local authorities. Despite ongoing restrictions, the announcement of the G7 summit being held in Carbis Bay compelled me to turn my camera towards the rapid conversion of homes, beaches, and public spaces into heavily fenced and policed areas - the G7 was also the likely cause of a ‘super-spreading’ event.

NO PHOTOGRAPHY

As someone whose duty involves recording and witnessing events, documenting a small piece of the pandemic jigsaw, became a significant task for me. Navigating through various locations was met with multiple restrictions. I used a Hasselblad Xpan where I thought it was most effective and attempted to capture small part of an unprecedented time in history. However when I was taking these particular images a security guard warned me that photographing on the premises would result in me being denied a vaccine. This was emblematic of a pattern that persisted for an entire year – even the part time security personnel were acting as self-appointed enforcers, making an already challenging situation more difficult because they didn’t understand the law.