(Re)constructing Deptford
Place and its people are a central aspect of how my project (Re)constructing Deptford started and how it has progressed. I put place first because it was the primary consideration for me as I began. Now, I consider people who live, work and travel through Deptford to be the thing that holds the place together, with the landscape they find themselves in a social and cultural construct based on the community's interactions with the town.
Regeneration of a place that is close to my heart is of interest to me. Depicting people in this setting that is altering irrevocably before me shows people are a vital aspect of Deptford. I believe my images show something of the strong sense of community I have observed amidst all the redevelopment taking place in the area.
By sharing these images alongside anthropomorphic poems, I am inviting the viewer to explore the ongoing changes in Deptford with me, through my eyes. This is realised by image and poem forming a diegesis which informs the observer of how I perceive these changes. It is a local project so the people who I most want to look at the work are its inhabitants. However, since similar changes can be extrapolated to other developing towns, I consider the project to be wider reaching than Deptford.
My images are made up of composites where people were present at those points in the frame but at different times. This questions the decisive moment within photography and comments on this trope by subverting it. At the same time, it comments on community in developing areas and how, even in times where a place is being reconstructed, there remains spirit amongst its people.
Around here were the docks
Not any kind of docks but royal ones
Thankfully we still have some remnant of them
If only in the boating that goes on
Recreational reminders of my patch’s legacy
Behind me’s where all the new planning began
Looming up from unregulated permits for growth
Development has ripped up my foundations
I’m sure it’s all for the best
Although all for the best for who?
They build upon me every day
In time for the new unveiling
I’m sure I used to be a park
But my memory isn’t that good now, understandably
Over many months my passers-by have inscribed messages
I’ve seen them tag words and images in my side
Though I feel little as the years have rolled by
I’ve noticed less vehicles opposite where I stand
And the new-builds behind me show nothing of the past
Standing still, I feel I am a last relic
And just a wall at that
Many a pint’s been downed within my walls
Just like the memories as my business declined
Not by will of my owners, I’ll wager
More likely just a sign of changing times
Now most of the interest goes to my surroundings
And I wonder how I will fit in with their look
Or if I will fit in the long run at all
I’ve been stationed at the top of the high street for a while
I moved moorings a bit a few years back
In my glorified naval days, I used to hold fast real ships
But that was ages ago
Now my view stays the same
Except for the erection of towering flats
Or the shops beside me changing hands
Much custom used to come through my doors
People from the past getting their pictures framed
But the irony isn't lost on me
Now I make for a pretty picture myself
As I become more and more dilapidated
With the new flats and park on either side
I might soon be seen in a different context
I live in a rough part of town
Or at least it used to be
People pass by me daily
All different types and creeds
New incomers are becoming more common
Rest assured, those round the corner
They’re safe behind key and gate
First they built the train system
Carving right through me
Connecting me far and wide
Then they built the galleries
They show my changing face
Both inside and out
Connecting people far and wide
You should have seen me a few years ago!
I, the station and my friends, the arches
In a way those were the good old days
With all the old characters present and correct
Now the old guard's changing
Bringing in fresh, gentrified customers
Brought about in part by my infrastructure
I’m the Yard and I’m new!
You can find me just off the high street
But I’m not much like the high street
There was a sign above my head from before
But even that’s been covered up
Now I’ve got a festival once a year
And I take pride of place in my town
On the surface I’m just another part of town
The seasons come and go as do the people
But I’ve retained my character through the changes
Can the same be said for my neighbours?
The trains have surely brought in new faces
And it’s a far cry from when I was renovated
In all though I remain hopeful for my sustained future