Book Collaboration: This Was Us

THIS WAS US is the definitive book about Lockdown, featuring 16 photo stories by 14 photographers:

Andrew Moore, Barry Lewis, JJ Waller, David Sládek, Ed Sykes, David Collyer, Alys Tomlinson, Bex Day, J. A. Mortram, Ruth Toda-Nation, Olivia Harris, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Doherty and David Gilbert Wright.

David Gilbert Wright and I have been working on this book for a few years, finding photographers who were producing work during the lockdown periods and bringing their different perspectives together into a wider, collective record of that time.

A small number of photographers recognised a responsibility to document this moment in our social history. Like many historical records, these photo stories have now become vital in understanding what life was really like for ordinary people living under severe restrictions.

It has taken time, particularly as we have been working together remotely, but we both felt that this was an important story to tell. We have also both experienced personal loss during this period, which has made the project feel all the more important to us.

The COVID Inquiry is now seeking to conclude its investigations, and this book stands as a testimony to all who lost loved ones or whose lives were changed in ways they are still finding difficult to understand.

It is offered as testimony for future generations, so they may see the reality behind the lockdowns and understand what this period truly meant.

This project was successfully funded on 18th June 2026. You can still support our book with a donation on Crowdfunder.