ESTATE
Estate is a collaborative visual and textual project exploring working-class culture, landscape and memory. Developed by artist Patrick Murphy and Professor David Forrest, the work reflects on the cultural and social histories embedded within British council estates.
Estate is a journey through the bricks and mortar that have sheltered, shaped, and sometimes constrained the lives of Britain’s working-class communities. These homes— whether in towering council blocks or sprawling streets—have been more than just physical spaces. They are the crucibles of identity, the battlegrounds of social policy, and the silent witnesses to the triumphs and struggles of countless individuals.
This project aims to capture the essence of working-class life through the lens of the estates that have housed generations. These estates, often marked by economic hardship, social upheaval, and political neglect, are also the sites of incredible resilience, creativity, and community spirit. From the post-war optimism of Bevan’s housing vision to the harsh realities of Thatcherism and beyond, Estate traces the cultural and social transformations that have defined these spaces and the people who inhabit them.
The project draws inspiration from the Special Collections and Archives at the University of Sheffield, which house the papers and manuscripts of writers such as Barry Hines, Jack Rosenthal, and Richard Hoggart. These archives provide a starting point for examining how working-class lives have been represented in literature, film and television over the past fifty years.
Through drawing, image-making and text, Estate responds to this cultural lineage while also reflecting on the artists’ own experiences of growing up on council estates. The work is informed by the legacy of writers such as Andrea Dunbar, Shelagh Delaney, and David Storey, alongside filmmakers including Shane Meadows and Clio Barnard, whose work has shaped contemporary portrayals of working-class life.
The project invites audiences to reconsider how working-class culture is documented and represented today. By revisiting historical archives and combining them with contemporary artistic responses, Estate creates a dialogue between past and present, asking how creative practice can continue to give voice to working-class stories.
The resulting works form part of an exhibition and a limited edition artist book, which will be donated to the University of Sheffield’s Special Collections and Archives. A digital version of the publication is also available, extending access to the project beyond the exhibition space.
At the centre of the project is an exploration of the word ESTATE itself. Murphy’s drawings layer and intertwine the letterforms, stacking them into structures that resemble street plans, housing grids or architectural blueprints. The overlapping forms suggest the density and complexity of estate life — organised yet irregular, structured yet improvised — reflecting the lived experience of communities shaped by shared space.
Estate is both a book and an exhibition.
The exhibition brings together over 300 house silhouettes, each one filled with the artist’s own memories of growing up on a housing estate. Alongside these personal fragments, the work also references and celebrates films and music created by working-class artists—voices and stories that have shaped a shared cultural landscape.
Together, the installation forms a collective portrait of place, memory and identity, where the everyday becomes something to pause, reflect on, and recognise.
