Day 11: Sabab Khan

3 February 2020

What Is Your London?

For many, the idea of London conjures up postcard pictures: the London Eye, Buckingham Palace. However, these depictions of the capital that we’re used to seeing in the media, advertising and the press are outdated. That isn’t the reality for young people living here today. London is nothing without the people that live in it, and each individual has their own story to tell so the participants of Creativity Works: Visual Storytelling were briefed with showing the world what their version of London is, to let the world see their perspective.

This is Sabab's London...

The Silence Before it Changes

The centrepiece of Sabab Khan’s project is an image of him holding up his childhood photograph against what would have been his estate before it was knocked down. Growing up, Khan would always hear people around him talking about moving out and finding a new place to live. When it came to his family’s turn to move out of the housing estate, they were more fortunate than others and were able to stay in Tower Hamlets (East London).

By being able to stay, Khan witnessed the daily change that occurred, people arriving and leaving. Once a tight-knit community has turned into a place with division and alienation, the manifestation of which has left the community fragmented as it searches for its new identity.

Through this project, Khan explores the silence in this transition, leaving it to commuters on a train towards a destination. The silence in people willing to bring up this topic and the silence in the distance between drifting people, newcomers or old. Khan attempts to portray this silence through his images and capture the feeling and atmosphere of Tower Hamlets before it changes again and blurs in front of our eyes.