On The Brink

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Curated by:

Sarah Amy Douglas

This collection of images is a photographic exploration of social housing in some of North London's most deprived boroughs. I chose to primarily showcase apartment blocks that were built after the second world war. These multi-storied communities frequently replaced slum housing, giving working-class communities modern facilities and a sense of communal pride. They were more than just places to live, but homes built on a vision of shared responsibility and co-operation.

Today these landmarks have fallen into a state of disrepair. Communities that were fractured by Right to Buy in the 1980s were neglected first by councils and then successive arms-length management companies. abandonment has poisoned pride, leaving the urban landscape with buildings that are daubed with graffiti and surrounded by fly-tipping.

I have created these images to highlight the disconcerting visual impact of these decaying buildings, some of which are partially boarded up as the last residents live out their lives within their walls.

I have manipulated the images to replace windows with brick walls. On one level, this symbolized the way in which the social housing market has hit a brick wall, a crisis. At a deeper level, I wanted to show the anguish and powerlessness of communities, with the buildings sadly closing their eyes to the gentrification that surrounds them. Those bricked up windows shut out a world that no longer has space for them. A world where they will be commemorated in little more than a road or building name, replaced by sterile boxes that are built to government specifications and targets, not out of care for existing communities. A few of the windows remain unbricked to highlight the presence of human existence.

I have lived much of my life in North London, including some periods in social housing. I wanted to create images that tell the story of these buildings. I hope the viewer will consider whether these new, gentrified communities will thrive - or whether these often cheaply built developments will become the slums of the future?

https://sarahdouglasphotography.com/

Other exhibitions by Sarah Amy Douglas