Travellers’ Children in London Fields
It is my pleasure to publish this splendid series of portraits of travellers’ children by Colin O’Brien, the photographer I featured earlier this week. They are the result of a remarkable collaboration between a photographer and his subjects, in which the children command the frame with natural authority and strength of personality. And Colin O’Brien’s masterly photographs make an interesting comparison with Horace Warner’s Spitalfields Nippers of 1912, even though Colin O’Brien had never seen the work of Horace Warner when he set out with his camera through the East End seventy-five years later.
“I came across the travellers whilst I was photographing a deserted warehouse in the London Fields area in 1987. They had parked their caravans in and around Martello St, near the railway arches by the station. This part of Hackney was very run down in the eighties. The streets were littered with rubbish and many of the decaying Victorian terraces were being demolished. The area was neglected and dangerous, with graffiti everywhere.
The travellers were Irish, mostly families with three or four children, living in modern caravans which looked extremely cramped but comfortable. On the first week I started to take one or two Polaroid shots of the children which I gave to them to show their parents. Some of the parents then dressed the children up and sent them out for me to take more pictures.
I continued to take many more images over a period of three weeks and got to know some of the travellers well. They took me into their confidence and trusted me with their children. It was only when I started to print the images that I realised what an amazing set of photographs they were.
There are many powerful images in this series, but the one of the little girl in the woollen dress is the most haunting. Unlike the other children who came across as being relaxed and seemed to be enjoying the experience, this girl was tense, somewhat wary of what was happening, her hands clenched and she was not smiling. The woollen dress with bobbles attached must have been warm and clingy and she was not smiling. I never met her parents, nor did she appear again after I had taken this one picture.
When I returned to the site on the fourth week the families had gone. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was – after all, this is what travellers do, they move on. I had no way of contacting them but I was left with an amazing set of pictures.”
Photographs copyright © Colin O’Brien
You can visit www.colinobrien.co.uk and I shall be publishing more of Colin O’Brien’s photographs in coming weeks – and be sure to visit his exhibition “Hand Printed” at Medcalf in Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell until 19th June.
You may also like to take a look at the Spitalfields Nippers.
Fabulous pics. I love all the attitudes displayed. I wish the prejudice these young people will face in their lives for being ‘different’ was inverted into admiration for refusing to accept the norm.
Brilliant pictures. They do contrast really well with the earlier Spitalfields Nippers pictures. Makes 1987 seem like another world. Something poignant about these pictures. I’d love to know what happened to these kids and what they’re doing now. Funny how children are often so much betters subjects for photographs than adults as they are less self conscious.
Unbearably touching. What amazing little creatures they all are…
I clearly remember this-
One of the caravans parked between the cycle route and the railway arches at the NE corner of London fields. I passed that way every day, on my way to and from work. The washed clothes were hung to dry on the railings at the edge of London Fields, and the cheery lady of the household washed the cycle lane each morning with floral disinfectant!
They are really resilient looking children, like they can adapt to anything that comes their way.
These photos are very impressive. They immerse you, once you look at that eyes, you want look at them again and again.
Colin is a brilliant photographer. I have a book of his photos which I bought some time ago at the OXO BUILDING. These ones of the Traveller children are great. What characters!