Who Killed Blair Peach? 1979

Curator: This striking photomontage is by Peter Kennard. Titled "Who Killed Blair Peach?" it powerfully questions the circumstances surrounding Peach's death during an anti-racism demonstration in 1979. Editor: The starkness hits you immediately. The black and white imagery, the fragmented composition – it creates a feeling of unease, a sense of something being hidden or distorted. Curator: Kennard's work often addresses political issues and social injustices. Here, he juxtaposes images of police with magnified portraits, perhaps suggesting a need for closer scrutiny of authority. Editor: Exactly. And the hands holding the magnifying glass – are they searching for truth, or manipulating the narrative? The ambiguity is very effective in implicating the viewer. Curator: The use of postage stamps is interesting too, ordinary symbols of state, yet here they become evidence within this unsettling investigation. Editor: Ultimately, Kennard’s work invites us to confront uncomfortable truths about power, accountability, and the role of the state in acts of violence. Curator: Indeed. It leaves you pondering the systemic issues that allowed such an injustice to occur and persist.