Blackstock Road is a personal portrait of a North London high street that explores a variety of food outlets through photographs in a documentary style. Through the perspective of food and the environment in which it is made, the work challenges established narratives of the surrounding community, focusing primarily on the multicultural migrant population.
For decades, the image of the community surrounding Blackstock Road has been skewed by headlines consistently focusing on the criminal minority. The association made between the area’s criminality and members of varying migrant communities reinforces hostile rhetoric echoed throughout many sections of British society, which often harms the financial and physical well-being of these communities.
By using magical realism to explore themes of identity, immigration, and gentrification, the objective of the work is to renegotiate popular narratives by moving the attention to the culinary space and the individuals that drive them. It aims to shine a light on the community's vibrant variety of cuisines to celebrate London’s multiculturalism.
