The Arts & Culture Journal

Sheer 1950s class wrapped up with a failing textiles industry

Elsbeth Juda, widely known as Jay, has just recently celebrated her 98th birthday. Since moving to Britain from Germany, in 1933, with only her husband and a violin, she has become an iconic photographer of great repute.

She took a very active part in setting up a collection of her work,  photos which originally appeared in The Ambassador magazine between 1940s and 1960s, in L’Equipment des Arts gallery, London. A striking exhibition, from which the photo series in this feature is taken.

‘Milling around Lancashire’ is a series taken against the backdrop of a failing textiles industry during the 1950s, in Britain. It is a celebration of the industry, with a clear statement of intent i.e. textiles had a future in the modern age. The series attempts to revitalise the perception of its decay.

Barbara Goalen, one of the most widely photographed and iconic woman of her time, poses wrapped in a variety of fabrics; brandished anew across the aged, industrial backdrop. For 1952, she was a diamond against degradation. It is as if, a layer of the contemporary has been glossed atop the photos - The result of which is a thought-provoking, compositional style. 

Her current exhibition is running at L’Equipment des Art gallery till the 7th June, 2009. For more information on her photography, check out the links on Elsbeth’s artist page.