In the noisy bustle of London’s West End, I have been looking for sanctuaries of quietness and contemplation. I found them in the back alleys and doorways of Chinatown.
At night, when the countless restaurants compete for tourists and theatregoers, throngs of visitors collide with Chinatown’s tight-knit ethnic community. By the time the restaurants open, some of the kitchen staff have already been working since early morning. Many of them are recent immigrants who speak little more than a few words of English. Some will have clocked more than 60 hours when the week is over.
Portraits of Larry Love (aka Rob Spragg) and The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love (aka Jake Black).
Founded in Brixton 1995, Alabama 3 achieved success when the producers of hit TV series The Sopranos chose the track "Woke Up This Morning" for the show's opening credits.
THE TRIANGLE
There are few neighbourhoods in London, or indeed anywhere else, that are charged with a spirit and sense of place like the streets and markets around Atlantic Road, Brixton Road and Coldharbour Lane – locally referred to as the Brixton Triangle.
Today, more than ever before, Brixton is a place of contrasts and colliding cultures looking back on a complex history marked by struggles for equality, justice, and self-determination. The current wave of gentrification is only the latest episode in a succession of profound transformations that have kept changing the face of the area over the decades.
I’ve been living here and have witnessed the changes happening around me ever since I came to London almost 25 years ago. It’s a neighbourhood that has taken me a long time to build a relationship with, sometimes feeling as much an alien as I did the day I first arrived.
Encountering its people in the streets and creating images is my way of making connections, defining my place among fellow Brixtonians.
With The Triangle, I’m hoping to make universal observations that resonate far beyond south London and touch upon themes such as spirit, pride, determination and resilience, and to contribute to the visual record of Brixton’s past, present, and future.