Pirates, Cowboys and Jokers

It's not about sport. Pirates, Cowboys and Jokers is the opening chapter of Jon Nicholson's long term project on the UK's banger racing scene; its community and its creativity. 

Every weekend and on some weekdays from January to November they race ‘bangers’. These are grassroots, passionate people who delight in the colour and drama of their custom paint jobs as much as watching them smashed up on the track. This is a family affair with young kids getting stuck in and learning about the cars. The race meetings represent great gatherings. BBQs on the back of a flatbed truck heighten a prevailing and welcome sense of camaraderie.

In an increasingly divided Britain, a Britain where economic and social frustrations are playing out in our newspapers and in the streets, banger racing represents something like freedom. Here folks who often find themselves on the peripheries of society can choose to make, destroy and remake again, expressing their expertise and aesthetic on entirely their own terms.

The pictures, in one sense, have a timelessness. One could question in which decade they were shot. Yet, they are very clearly pictures of our time, of this particular moment, and of all that implies.

With a 40-year career spanning continents, Jon Nicholson’s work ranges from Formula 1 and Olympic sport to humanitarian projects for the UN. His photographs—published and exhibited worldwide—combine empathy, access and craft, from conflict zones to fashion campaigns for brands like Nike and Ferrari. Returning to film and long-form storytelling, his recent projects include Macchina and an in-depth study of Britain’s banger-racing scene.