Capturing Everyday Life in East London Through the Years

I used to see this man regularly in and around Brick Lane in the 1980s. On this occasion he’s absorbed in a book, seated on a discarded fruit box outside a closed shop.

Taken during the Sunday market, he has created his own private bubble despite the bustle around him—a moment of calm and introspection amid the everyday life of Brick Lane in the mid-1980s. As public spaces feel less public these days and people are expected to keep moving, I wonder what he would make of what Brick Lane has become?

You can buy a signed copy of my latest photo book here