Golden Mile, Blackpool
- Artist: Chris Steele-Perkins
- Date: 1980–9
- Medium: Photograph, dye destruction on paper
- Dimensions: image: 303 x 405 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Golden Mile, Blackpool” photograph by Chris Steele‑Perkins. It belongs to his 1980–9 set *The Pleasure Principle*, a series of forty‑four colour Cibachrome prints that capture leisure scenes across Britain in the early eighties.
In this image we see a slice of public life – a bus, an amusement arcade, people strolling along a street or waving in a sunny square – all rendered with the vivid color palette that Cibachrome offers. The dye‑destruction process on paper gives the print its rich tonal contrast and makes each figure pop against a bright background.
Steele‑Perkins aimed to show “the public rituals we employ in the pursuit of happiness,” and he uses everyday leisure activities as markers of British identity. He includes everything from youth culture to countryside hobbies, even a portrait of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, to underscore how these moments shape a sense of national belonging.
The print is about 30 cm by 40 cm (303×405 mm), making it approachable yet detailed enough for viewers to spot individual gestures and surroundings. As part of the *Modern and Contemporary British Art* display in Tate Britain, it invites us to pause and think about how people project their identities through everyday play.
See it in person
Golden Mile, Blackpool is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
