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Britain has been standing at the thin edge of lockdown, ready either to continue opening up or retreat once again from this ever-mutating virus. One thing is certain: the country we once knew is gone, and a “new normal” has taken its place.

Studio PI documentary photographer Brunel Johnson turned his focus to capturing black and ethnic minority-owned establishments as they prepared to reopen, and presented us with a glimpse of that new normal.

In these images, you will see the anxieties and hardships of the lockdowns; the tough decisions taken and the mental and physical struggles many have endured. But there’s something else here, too. Look closely and you can see the kindling of a new hope for equality. Out of the ashes of lockdown comes a picture of Britain where communities have found and embraced each other. Where we learnt the names of our local shopkeepers. Where black lives began truly to matter, and powerful black voices spoke up and were heard.

After enduring one of the most difficult periods of recent history it is heartening to see businesses and communities who — in that most British of fashions — simply kept calm and carried on. This is what resilience looks like. And what has begun slowly to emerge is a more United Kingdom.