The familiar streets of the capital are rendered almost uncanny in this contemplative, tonal series by Berris Conolly. Captivating in their atmospheric, filmic quality, Conolly's photographs reveal small moments from the past, hinting at stories that have just happened; or are about to. They have both a stillness and a promise of approaching disturbance, drawing us in to the urban landscape and making the London of 40 years ago feel at once distant and strangely present.
Located in east London just north of The City, Hackney has a long history stretching back to Tudor times. During the 1980s when Berris Conolly took these photographs it was an area in decline. This was a decade of turmoil in both national and local politics with issues of social justice never far from the headlines. Today the concerns increasingly revolve around the gentrification of areas of the borough and the disparities of wealth that this exemplifies.