FINAL_r_Issue 9_Focus from the AOP_September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 31
DEAN BELCHER
FREE N EASY’S
These images are part of a larger ongoing project called BELONG which began as a quite personal
exploration into my family history, my relationships, and in particular the one I had with my dad. As is
often the case the project headed off into other tangents around communities and belonging with an
emphasis on class, social mobility and the rapid changes in my lifetime. I like to work in this way,
allowing the subject to guide me and explore organically, sometimes it’s a total dead end sometimes
fruitful but I enjoy the process and feeds the curiosity.
In the case of these photographs, as part of my research into how music creates a sense of Belonging I
discovered the Free and Easy’s. From the earliest of times people have gathered to tell stories and
entertain themselves, the Free and Easy's follow on from a distinctive lineage that can be traced back
to UK workers, particularly English who would gather together after working in what were mainly
agricultural jobs.
Once the industrial revolution of took hold and more and more people came to the towns in the first
part of the 19th century taverns became the home of these amateur and sometimes professional
entertainers, seen as quite disreputable they however gave the opportunity to get up and do a
