PHIL MAXWELL

After his family went into debt Charles Dickens found himself working at a shoe-polish factory. The experience made him realize  that the members of the lower class were the same as himself but were given no chance to ‘better’ themselves. It became Dickens mission to champion the plight of ‘street urchins’ and the poor in general. The photograph below was taken in Cheshire Street – a place that would have been familiar to Dickens. I wonder what the two images would provoke in Dickens mind. In the 1980’s children roamed their local streets freely but today they are mostly at home and locked onto their computers. I’m sure Dickens would have wanted to give these children a voice.

Cafe with child. Cheshire Street, London 1985

Early morning street with child. Sylhet, Bangladesh 1996