Seren Lewis BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History 2020

My work is concerned with the idea of class in Britain, and more specifically working class leisure because of my own personal connection with the topic.

I have always felt a disconnect between my interests and lifestyle and what would be perceived as working class, after all studying a Fine Art and Art History degree is not what anyone would call working class. In the past few years I have found myself thinking about class identity, my own upbringing and how that has influenced my views on the British class divide. My parents were pub landlord and lady for Whitbread pubs in numerous areas in England and we lived above these old style pubs. When I was in my early teens my parents decided to leave the pub trade and we settled in a slightly more affluent area than I was used to. The school I went to was completely different to any I had previously attended and mainly had wealthy middle class students. I began to notice that my family were not quite the same as the ones that surrounded me - my mum’s thick scouse accent, our old car with the rust down the side - and I felt very out of place. It’s only as an adult that I realise there was no need to feel this way, my parents gave me everything they could and I had a happy childhood.

My work aims to capture moments from my childhood in working class pubs, making art for those who also frequented them from items you would typically find in the pub.