Andrew Moore | Divis Flats and West Belfast, 1986.
Divis Flats, a complex of high-rise buildings located in the Divis area of West Belfast, was not just a collection of homes but a microcosm of the social and political tensions that engulfed Northern Ireland during the troubles. For residents, the maze of security measures and the ever-present risk of violence were part of their daily existence. The year 1986 was a period of heightened tensions, with incidents and clashes between security forces and paramilitary groups affecting the lives of those living in Divis Flats.
Photographer Andrew Moore was in Northern Ireland in 1986 documenting the troubles as well as the day-to-day lives of the people of West Belfast. Andrew recalls: “The summer of 1986 was my first visit to Belfast. I would wander through West Belfast with an old Leica M2 camera (it was older than me), talking to people along the way, trying to find my bearings. The Divis Flats and estate were undergoing demolition, but they were still bursting with life. Crossing the bridge from the city center to the flats gave me the feeling of entering a new world, one with entirely different rules and the possibility that anything could happen. There was a glaring disconnect between the dark history of the flats and the energy and optimism of the kids.”
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
“The Divis footbridge was like a pathway to another world. Nowhere in Belfast was normal at the time, but everything changed and became more uncertain once the bridge was crossed from the city centre. I’d walk across to the Falls most days, photographing the gently squabbling kids along the way despite appearances, the little boxer in the above image was very sweet (I kept bumping into him that summer).” – Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
“I was wary of reducing Belfast to the cliché of press photography that captured cute kids and paramilitary murals. I am still unsure where, or if images like this fit into the overall arc of the series, but the passage of time has made them more interesting. I am now in my late 50s, and the children in these photographs must be in their 40s; it’s impossible not to wonder how their lives turned out.” – Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
“The elder girl in this image was fascinated by photographers roaming through Belfast that summer and asked if she could try out one of my cameras. She took a great photograph of her sister before turning the camera on me.”
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
Photo © Andrew Moore.
“Photograph taken by this girls elder sister after having a go of my camera.”
Photo © Andrew Moore.
“This is the photo that the elder girl took of me, The bruising was from a beating I took off the Met Police earlier in the year.”
Gallery first published 18th January, 2022. © Andrew Moore / British Culture Archive. All rights reserved.
All images © Andrew Moore, all rights reserved. No usage or reproduction of any kind without prior permission of the copyright holder.
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