(Re)constructing Deptford was shown from the 30th September - 16th October 2021 at ACAVA Studios, 5 Borthwick St SE8 3GH.
Tap. tap. tap. Is that the sound of a place being incessantly reconstructed - like Deptford has been since the docks were built? Or is it the sound of the Thames gently lapping against its side?
Look around you, and you’re bound to see a multitude of signs that point to new futures. Look a little closer and there might be some traces of a dwindling industrial past. Amid the ebb and flow of this constantly developing place, there are strands linking Deptford to its community. Do these paths connect people to the docking heritage or to the onwards march of gentrification and shiny façades? Which paths are permanent and which are more transient? Does it even matter - is looking to preserve something intangible in an ever changing world an exercise in futility? I think the biggest question for me: what does it mean to have soul in a place undergoing change?
Walking down Deptford High Street as a child, I was fascinated by the sounds, smells and tastes of the market. Nowadays, not much seems to have changed. Apart from everything around it, myself included. These days as a photographer, I pay more attention to the sights around me. As I document the town, I ask myself what Deptford means to me. My lens is drawn to the people because they are the ones who mould and sculpt Deptford over time. I use a photographic technique where I layer people from different moments onto the landscape they’re slowly constructing. These composites pose questions like: are people and the communities they build more meaningful than the land they inhabit? Are they subject to change like the developments surrounding them? Maybe the only constant is change itself, just like the tide on the river running alongside...
(Re)constructing Deptford is supported by the artists at ACAVA Studios, 5 Borthwick Street.
