Now this assignment is like the stepping stone - combining the single shots we previously worked on, into a story. I really like to create a visual narrative, not that I find it easy to do, but I have looked forward to get input on this matter. So, there I was my brain turning around ideas not being able to decide in which direction I want to go… There is Ridley Road Market, Buddhist Center, issues around Photography in public spaces, Open Wireless Network (OWN)… I read into all the subjects, tried to come up with shooting scripts, took some pictures, nothing really convincing. I wasn’t too happy about my non-decisive behavior and I had to push hard to make the choice. What strongly resonated was, that we ideally choose a subject we can go back. Also, I wanted to have interesting people and preferably a subject matter about a social concern. Ridley Road Market then. Finally. It’s an outdoor market in East London one of the adventurous kinds, a truly remarkable place, a daily carnival or a trip around the world in 30 minutes. And exactly this unique place was in danger to gentrification process as it does not really correspond to everybody taste. It’s a difficult one, East London is getting a “revamp” because of the up coming Olympic games and Ridley Road Market is probably regarded as an eye sore to the council. I think everything possible should be done, to keep the markets current character. There are improvements to be made but these should benefit the traders, shoppers and residents and not the sleek image of the “new” Hackney. This market is essential for a large community, the offered products are diverse and cheap and it is a place of social gathering. Well, the task of this project is clear then - to capture this very essence of Ridley Road which I like so much.
It feels very different to go to a place with the mindset of accomplishing ones ideas; it was almost like the hunter is looking for the prey. The first stall keeper I saw was not the easiest one, though he had some amazing looking native African beauty products. He wanted £1000 for the pictures taken… with the reason that photographers today make fortunes with taking pictures of people. I did not feel like discussing, said good bye and moved on. But it was echoing in my head what he said - there is such a huge misunderstanding (on both sides!) happening what photography concerns, to a degree that it worries me slightly for my professional future… Anyway, that’s a different discussion altogether.
I was talking to an ex-trader, who visited his friend and he told me interesting stories about the market and insider information, though I frequently had to ask what he was saying, good old Cockney! Whilst the conversation I kept looking around and I saw a possible shot building up. Hunter saw prey and GO!
[caption id=“attachment_269” align=“alignnone” width=“560” caption=“people doing their daily shopping at Ridley Road Market”]
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I went back to the man and showed him the photos, he then mentioned that years and years ago he took a BW Photography course and that he really liked darkroom work. We talked about Photography today, the digital era and he wanted to know more about it and about computers etc. We moved on how mainstream media has damaged the image of Photography, he was very passionately, so much I told him to pick up again with photography! A wonderful conversation moving on to politics, we had a similar view and he asked me whether I am a communist… He told me about the times, during the Thatcher “regime” how he was taking part in the demonstrations, as a communist… What a treat! This kind of discussion you don’t get in a supermarket! I then had to move on, clouds marched in. I managed to take only a few more shots until I was involved in another conversation with a Kurdish man, originally from the region where Turkey borders to Iraq. He has been working on this market for 9 years and he is worried about the future. Not only because the business has gone down but also because his son does not want to step into this kind of business… Changes, not always easy to take on board. There was also a change regarding weather, a sudden strong wind blow and torrential rain, the neighboring stall keepers plastic sheets went all up in the sky, his clothes got soaking wet. The temperatures dropped significantly and Mustafa bought me a cup of tea. As business went dead with that intermezzo the traders started teasing each other and it was such a laugh. Greeks, Kurds, British, Pakistani, Albanian, Caribbeans… Nations CAN co-exist in a peaceful way - watch out for it!
[caption id=“attachment_276” align=“alignnone” width=“560” caption=“Mustafa Gur, trader for 9 years at Ridley Road Market”]
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[caption id=“attachment_274” align=“alignnone” width=“373” caption=“Fishmonger and butcher on Ridley Road Market”]
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[caption id=“attachment_283” align=“alignnone” width=“373” caption=“Curtain trader on Ridley Road Market London”]
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[caption id=“attachment_284” align=“alignnone” width=“560” caption=“fruit shopping on Ridley Road Market”]
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[caption id=“attachment_285” align=“alignnone” width=“560” caption=“Jeans for all! Ridley Road Market”]
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[caption id=“attachment_287” align=“alignnone” width=“373” caption=“Ade selling african textiles since 2 years on Ridley Road Market London”]
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