Lock Down
A Street in Dalston
At a time where we can’t socialise with friends or see family, I began a portrait series of my street to get to know the neighbours. I spent around 20 minutes with each household, standing on the pavement, chatting at a distance before taking their photo. Sometimes my housemate would join me as the idea of having some new social interactions was very inviting.
Hearing everyones stories, where they came from, what they were doing in the world before it stopped and how long they lived here for was so interesting. Some families have lived on the street since the 70’s. From Windrush generations, to families from Kashmir, Mauritius, Japan, America, Australia and Europe. I now have a penpal that lives at the other end of the road to me. He’s called Theo and is four. We draw pictures and post them to each other. We have borrowed
puzzles from a few doors down, had neighbours make us sourdough starter and have been offered discounts on home office furniture! Since sharing the project amongst members of the street, I see people chatting outside each-others doors, recognising one another from the photos.
With the good weather, many people sit on their front door steps enjoying the sun, some working from their laptops. Now there are so many familiar faces I see on my daily walk, I feel a great community connection that will last a long time and is so rare for city living. After seeing my photos one lady messaged me to say, ‘ There is so much history on this road and I’m so glad you are doing this project.’
