Photo Stories
ALL IMAGES © STUART FREEDMAN
T
he past is apparently a foreign
country. This has been almost
entirely true in my case: born and
brought up in the East End of
London before it was embarrassingly
fashionable, I’ve spent almost my entire career
working in the developing world. It was a
conscious decision to tell the stories that I felt
important and a way to escape the cold, grey
streets of my youth.
Over the past few years I have, however,
been drawn back to my roots, attempting to
come to terms with my own identity through
the changed landscape of my past. My last
book,TheEnglishmanandtheEel(DewiLewis,
2017)wasanattempttoconnectwiththose
repositoriesof Londonworking-classculture
andmemory,thehumble(andfast-
disappearing)pieandmashshopsof myyouth.
I spentthreeyearsbuildingonaninitialessayI
madefora Germanmagazine,eventually
documenting 30 shops,ownersandcustomers
toshowa seldom-seensideof London.
ThesameyearmybookwaspublishedI found
myselfreadingthedailyandextraordinarily
encyclopaedicSpitalfieldsLifeblog.I foundan
article,EastEndVernacular, abouta historical
groupof painters(andtheirheirs)thathad
attemptedtodocumentthesamestreetsand
spacesthatI wasnowmeditatingon.
ThearticlerevealedTheEastLondonGroup;
a largelyforgottencollectiveof mostly
working-class,realistpainterswhohadexhibited
togetherfrom 1928 to 1936.Theywerejoinedin
thisexcellentsurveybya dozenmodernpainters
whoworkin a similartradition.I realisedthat,with
theexceptionof thecharmingIndianModernist,
thelateMFHusain(whoI’dphotographedone
rainynightin Bombay),I’dneverreallyseen
paintersin theirnaturalhabitat.Thiswas
interestingforme.Myphotographyhasalways
been(touseanartisticnotion)constructivistin
someway:I alwayswantedmyworktobe
politicalandmakechangebutI’dalsobeen
enthralledbypainting.Studyingpaintingswasa
waythatI taughtmyselftomakeimages– and
howI continuetoteachphotography.
Over the next 18 months, I managed to
make contact with all the contemporary artists
featured in East End Vernacular and make their
portraits. Sadly, Leon Kossoff, whose
work (especially his Dalston paintings) had
been such an infl uence, was too ill to take part
and died this year.Making plans
Before I start any project, I really think about
what I’m going to do and I make a plan. For
me, research and outlining are key and I made
two really important decisions about approach
and process at the start. I wanted the portraits
tobesemi-formalandin-situandI wantedto
makethissetwithlightingthroughout.
The‘how’wassimpleandthesameaspretty
muchanyreportageshoot:I’dturnup,usually
begivena cupof teaandsitandtalk.Normally,
I allowpeopletodowhattheynaturallydobut
hereI hadtodirectsomewhat:occasionally
movingclutteroutof frame,sometimesasking
peopletoholda positionfora littlelonger.
Lightsareintrusiveandsobeingableto
visualisewhatmightmakeanimagebeforeI
startedreallyhelped.I wantedthelightingto
besubtleandsousuallyjustusedtwo
ElinchromRangerheads(ineithermetre-
squaresoftboxesorOctoboxes)withthe
occasionaladditionof oneortwoSpeedlights
topickoutdetailsorrim.I wantedthelighting
tobeassubtleaspossibleandnotdominate.
The‘why’wasmorecomplicated.In addition
tomypersonalexploration,I neededthework
todoubleasfoliomaterial.A working
photographeris a workingphotographer.
Whenpeopleseemyworktheythinksolelyof
reportage– butaskanyworkingprofessional
andthey’lltellyouthatthemarketdemands
editorialphotographerswhocanalsomakelit
portraits.I’vealwaysdonethis– frombusiness
magazinestoannualreports.I seeit asa
parallelskilltobeinga photojournalistbecause
onehastomakemoneytofundprojectsthat
increasinglymagazineswon’t.Therearealways
billstopayand,equallytrueI suppose,is
thatwealleventuallycomebackhome.Heirs of the East
London Group
Taking a step back from his work that so oft en
takes him overseas, Stuart Freedman fi n d s
himself pursuing a project closer to home
This piece is dedicated to the memory of Ronald Morgan (1936-2019)
Adam Dant
Eleanor Crow