Hackney people, Hackney places

You’ve spent 10 years documenting Hackney, what prompted you to exhibit your images now?

It came to a point where it seemed that Hackney was changing so much that the newer pictures I had been working on started to look very different from the ones from this part of the project.

I began to edit the series and show people and then an opportunity arose to exhibit at The Printhouse Gallery.  It just seemed like the perfect place to show this work for the first time.

Have you displayed your entire collection of photographs?

No – the exhibition is just a small selection of the images.

What other changes have you noticed during your time documenting Hackney?

The images from the exhibition seem like a time that has already passed- some of the images to me look as if they could have been taken in the ’50’s.

There used to be more visible signs of poverty and crime, smashed cars, broken glass.  So much has changed so quickly. Buildings disappear and new ones emerge in their place.

Where I live on Amhurst Road there used to be a wall on a traffic island and a group of guys would sit there drinking every day.  One of these was Michael who I photographed in a chair on Sandringham Road.

The council knocked down the wall and made a lawn which I guess looks more genteel but means that those guys have had to move on.  Gradually those small planning changes start to affect the way that spaces are used and gentrification takes place.

Hopefully there is a way to preserve all the idiosyncrasies that make Hackney special and embrace the changes that are happening.

Do you feel as if you’re a part of the community?

Yes.  I think there is a strong sense of community in Hackney.  On our street people talk to each other and look out for each other.

My studio is in The Printhouse which is also incredibly community minded.  Sam Aldenton who runs Bootstrap is hoping to start an initiative where creative people in the building can offer work experience to kids between the age of 16-20 and mentor them.  This is the kind of project I would love to be involved in.

Spending 10 years scouring the streets for subjects you must have met some incredible characters.

Yes I have.  Taking someone’s portrait is an intimate thing, especially if someone lets you into their house and their world.  You have to be respectful.

This exhibition is in memory of Svetlana Davies – I used to see her walking her dog and I thought they both looked so striking.

I asked her if I could take her portrait and she invited me to her flat.  She had lived their since the 70’s and her bathroom was on the landing outside. She had no family and had become a recluse so I began spending time with her and used to sometimes walk her dog.

After Svetlana died last November I was having a meeting with the council to show them some of the images and discovered that Anku (her dog) had ended up in the care of a council member by coincidence. It was such a happy ending to an otherwise sad story. It’s a tight community; everyone is interlinked.

Will you continue with this project after the exhibition?

As long as my bones are in Hackney I’ll be taking photographs here.

We Are Only Humans is currently being exhibited until 10 July at The Print House, 18 Ashwin Street, Dalston, Hackney, E8 3DL