On a Monday morning in Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries, I watch as the artist, film director and screenwriter Steve McQueen greets a group of red-sweatshirt-clad schoolchildren. They are arranged in three rows and he passes between them, crouching to shake their hands and ask for their names. In the grand neoclassical hall, the group then poses for a photo.
On the walls around them are 3,128 framed photos. They are all unique but follow the format McQueen and the year four class here today have just followed: children in rows, facing the camera, with their teacher in the middle, and teaching assistants to the side. You might still own similar photos from when you were at school.
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
