Self Portraits

During the 1980’s and into the 1990’s I used to photograph the various mobilisations against Nazi groups who had decided the top of Brick Lane belonged to them. Sometimes there was just a handfill of protestors and on other occasions a huge counter demonstration. The BNP disappeared from the top of Brick Lane following a number of encounters with anti racists in the early 1990’s. Up until that time the police always protected the Nazis space and arrested protestors.

The occasion for these photographs was following a number of racist attacks in the area. As the National Front sold their newspapers on Sunday a few anti racists decided to stand next to paper sellers and hand out anti racist leaflets. This was not allowed by the police who said the National Front had their own pitch where exclusively they could sell their nasty racist publications. Any protestors who stood near the National Front would be moved on or, as happened on this occasion, arrrested. A few seconds after these photographs were taken myself and the woman in the photograph were arrested and taken to seperate cells in Bethnal Green Police station. The desk sargeant who took our details before we were incarcerated never took my camera from me; consequently I was able to take the following pictures. I was kept in the cell for a couple of hours and then released without charge. Fortunately I was able to kill time by photographing the various thoughts of former prisoners inscribed on the walls of the cell.