Brick Lane - East London
By Stefan Klenke
7 Aug 2009
What city do you live in? What neighborhood?
I live in East London - not far away from Brick Lane. An area which is massively influenced by it's huge Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian population but also by the changes the 2012 Olympic Games and the money will bring along in the next years.
One Curry restaurant sits next to another, Sweet shops and Fabric stores offer goods you can otherwise only expect to find in the middle of Mumbai.
On the weekends the streets are filled with mostly young arty looking folk - dressed to impress in a fresh and hip fashion - trying to hunt for second hand bargains. These treasures are quite weirdly arranged - often just put onto the naked street. The neigbourhood is so colourful and different - I discover something new every time i wonder around with my camera.
What are some adjectives that describe your neighborhood?
aromatic, colourful, arty, young, old, dirty, exhilarating, inspiring, different, foreign, English, Indian, off-the-wall, bizarre, Pakistanian, Bangladeshian, delicious, light, beautiful, sexy, athmospheric, interesting, funny, sad, weird, wonderful, changing, disappearing
How long have you lived there, and what brought you there?
I live in East London now for more than 3 years. Originally coming from Berlin, I moved to the UK to study Photography. The first 4 years I lived in Birmingham and Manchester - but London always pulled me like a big magnet. Especially East London attracted me as it is still an area in development - with cheaper rents and a much more young and off-the-wall character than the rest of the very commercialised capital. I suppose it sometimes reminds me of my beloved East Berlin - which i miss very much.
What is your favorite thing about this place? Your least favorite?
What I love about East London is that it feels like a young experimental twenty-something - who is still keen to give in to his lust for life, who is not to concerned about the tomorrow and cares just about the today. Art and Partys, Music and Love are more important than expensive cars and fancy restaurants.
Unfortunately the area is changing rapidly - fueled by the money the London Olympics is pumping into the city. New skyscrapers are rising like poisonous mushrooms from the grounds every week it seams. Like in most cities the inevitable is happening - the rich people want to live in the cool and hip area and by doing so they will change and destroy it. The rents will rise. Young poor artists will have to move away. Soon the small cosy coffee shops will be replaced by Starbucks - the small arty bars and clubs vanish and hotels and fancy designer shops will fill their spots. Soon the experimental twen will grow up into a boring streamlined mid-forty. This is exactly what happened in East-Berlin and this is something i hate with a passion. It means it's time to move on again.
Do you feel that you belong there?
London is a weird place - it is a love-hate relationship. Very often I feel I belong there but often I feel like an alien. But that's good for me as a photographer - as it makes me want to take photos of the place. I love the feeling of discovering a new world with the eye of a stranger and document it for people who have never been there - or lived there all their lives but have been to blind to really SEE it.
What is the most common misconception about where you live?
People think London is cool hip and trendy, they think everyone knows the Queen or Mick Jagger and that it's foggy and raining all the time and everyone eats fish and chips all day. But London has millions of different faces. It can be glamorous, green, warm sunny and welcoming but also very dirty, gritty and hostile. London is a city full of contrasts - the very poor live door to door with the rich and famous. Old is next to new. Beautiful right next to ugly. Especially in East London. Something I find very inspiring as a photographer.
What is a special fact about your city that you have to live there to know?
London's rents are massively overpriced, which forces many people into the stupid rat race of work and work and work just to pay for their flats. And they forget to live.
What aspect of your city do you secretly love?
Walking down the River Thames at night and seeing Big Ben and the parliament (it still gets me - evern after 3 years!).
Picnicking on top of the hill in Greenwich Park and seeing the skyline of the whole city in front of me. Sitting in the front on the top of a red doubledecker bus and just drive around with no aim. Sitting in Cafe 1001 and listening to some Jazz. Eating in my favourite Curry Restaurant in Brick Lane. Discovering new parts of the city every time i wonder around. Going to secret warehouse parties in Hackney Wick and lose myself into the wild stream of life.
Anything else you'd like to add?
The public transport system is awful. Especially in the summer the tube in the mornings in rush hour are a nightmare!!! Don't live here if you're allergic to sweaty, smelly crowds of people.
