Harry Lawson’s project focuses on the community spirt around one of England’s most infamous football clubs – his intimate portraits help reveal a side of Millwall Football Club too often neglected.
‘No one likes, we don’t care’ bellows from the terraces of The Den in SE16 on match days. This isn’t just a football chant, this is the unofficial club motto that Millwall supporters adhere to – clearly evident in all the tattoos, flags and banners that also carry those defiant words.
And defiant these fans should be. During the 1970s and 80s Millwall were football club that became synonymous with some of the more menacing sides of English football fandom. Terrace culture was at it’s peak and a fraction of Millwall fan’s were often right in the thick of things… However, this was no different any other football team during that era. Up and down the country football firms competed for a reputation as the hardest, most feared, best dressed, most cunning…
For Millwall and its loyal supporters – the reputation stuck with them, often fanned by sections of the media – who, whenever a small fraction of fans step over the line, are quick to point out – ‘Oh, it’s Millwall again’.
Perhaps this is why there is such fascination with the football club from outsiders, and why creatives like artist and documentary maker Harry Lawson have been keen to explore and document what life is really like in and around the football club and the local community.
Lawson’s project ‘Millwall on the Page’ explores the values and community spirit of supporters through intimate portraits and documentary format. Unsurprisingly , not all is as it’s often portrayed.
Harry Lawson: I’m an artist and documentary filmmaker from Sunderland. I’ve lived in London since I was 18, and in south London for most of that time.
Lower Block: Who do you support, and why?
HL: Sunderland. I started going to games aged 7 or 8 with my best friend at primary school, Kirk, and his dad. I’ve supported them for 22 years.
The club mean a lot to me. Sunderland also has an interesting connection to the ‘Millwall on the Screen‘ project in that one of my most vivid football memories is experiencing the Lion’s Roar chant during our FA Cup semi final against them at Old Trafford in 2004. I didn’t think ‘you’ll make a piece of art about this in 20 years’ but I was in awe and quite scared of the noise they created. It really sticks out as the main football memory I have from those years.
LB: How did your project ‘Millwall on the Page‘ come about?
HL: Slowly but surely, over many months getting to know people around The Den. It started with programme sellers and the burger vans, as well as local residents. After a few months of persuasion the club granted me pitchside access and everything took off from there. It also wouldn’t have happened without the initial support of Katie Simpson and Carolina Ongaro at Jupiter Woods, an arts space around the corner from the stadium where I lived and worked for one month in 2022.
Around that intense period of work I spent a couple of years going to games whenever I could, and first showed it in a week-long exhibition at Wheel Shunters Social Club in South Bermondsey earlier this year. More recently, the club let me show a short, silent version of the film at half time during their game against Blackburn Rovers – a pretty surreal experience.
The full length version is 52 minutes long and it’s playing on a loop at Chemist Gallery in Lewisham until 26 November. It’s a three-screen installation, and the heart of this project. ‘Millwall on the Page is a visual; accompaniment to that piece of work.
This project specifically is about seeing Millwall through the prism of its history on the screen, so a few films I don’t necessarily love as works of art were a big influence, eg. Green Street, The Football Factory, Arrivederci Millwall. A selected filmography can be found on the bookmark that comes within ‘Millwall on the Page‘.
LB: For you, what makes photographing football culture such a fascinating subject?
HL: Football has always been a vehicle for talking about other things. In my case that’s urban regeneration and the changing landscape of South Bermondsey. It can often feel like parts of London are up for grabs and this area is no exception. Football clubs, foodbanks, pubs, cafes – basically any situation that provides a reason to congregate – help to foster a sense of belonging. Sadly, part of the reason for making the work at this particular moment was tied to the redevelopment plans; I wanted to distill something of what it’s like now before it changes beyond recognition.
You can get a copy of ‘Millwall on the Page’ here, and check out the exhibition, ‘Millwall on the Screen‘ at Chemist Gallery
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