In a profile of the English writer Jilly Cooper, journalist Giles Hattersley wrote the following: "The British (or, more accurately, the English) are really obsessed with class, sex, shopping, anti-intellectualism and dogs." (To this I would also add, celebrity.) For some years now the English nation (whatever that is) has been (finally) undergoing a severe identity crisis – with a growing divide between English and British national identity. The Institute for Public Policy Research quotes research finding that 51% of ethnic minorities in the UK describe themselves as British, compared to only 29% of whites.

Where did we come from and where are we going to? Winston Churchill recognised the complexity of the inhabitants of these Isles by calling his study of this place ‘A History of English-Speaking Peoples’. Go back 1500 years and no one in Britain spoke English at all. So what does it mean to be English?

On St. George’s Day, I asked this question of people gathering in Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich.

Project realised with the assistance of Alicja Rogalska.

View the self-portraits and comments. (Flash movie)