Comments on: Joyce Edwards’ Squatter Portraits

By: PedroisPete

PedroisPete — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:21:27 +0000

Seeing these great photographs reminds me of squatting near Chalton street in the mid 80s. It was a great experience and I believe we contributed to the community and the buildings we squatted ( 1st all electric council flats). It definitely shaped my life, values and views. I'm sorry that young people are shut out of the housing market, cannot live cheaply in central London. We were lucky - seems like alot of happy memories, right

By: Allyson Matthews

Allyson Matthews — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 11:48:30 +0000

Oh wow.what memories

By: William Cahill

William Cahill — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 18:56:08 +0000

Gentle author, I did not make clear that my aunt’s photograph was fifty years old when I came upon it, thirty years ago.To not clear that up might give the impression that my aunt may have been roughly my near contemporary in age, and that she may have been congratulating us both for our luck in genetics, a luck still apparent. Not so! She spoke from the advantage of seniority.

Really, all that sounds boring. Sorry. Why not scrap my responses?

By: William Cahill

William Cahill — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 18:22:16 +0000

So very evocative. I was young in 1979. What struck me is the beauty of these young people. And that brought to mind finding a photograph of my aunt, uncharacteristically smiling. For some reason she never smiled for the camera.

“But you look beautiful!” I exclaimed.

Dismissively, she replied, “All young people are beautiful!”

I was once beautiful, too. Ah, what happened?

Squatting is a phenomenon that fascinates. The artists who moved into abandoned loft buildings in New York’s SoHo were surely squatting. I don’t think it happens anymore in New York, though god knows it could be justified easily. I have just finished a mystery set in Bath wherein squatting was used as a plot device. It cleared up some misconceptions I had about the subject. At least I think it did.

An article or book about the legal determinations that cover protections would be very interesting to read.

Ah, fleeting youth! My ravaged ruin!

Happy Valentine’s to the universe! That includes you, too!

Bless all Ms. Edward’s subjects. I hope they all found fulfillment.

By: B Smith

B Smith — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:52:50 +0000

Amazing quality of photography – they look like they could have been taken last week.

By: Jan Normandale

Jan Normandale — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 13:35:42 +0000

Brilliant work from Joyce Edwards. How I never heard of her work I don’t know. These portraits are exactly what portrait work should embody. It’s all about the subject. Unfortunately for me, it’s a long way from Toronto so I won’t be able to take this show in.

By: Kate Bacon

Kate Bacon — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:56:03 +0000

Beautiful portraits, reminds me of St Agnes Place, Kennington (sadly raised to the ground a number of years back) and Bonnington Square, Vauxhall (still standing) where I lived in the mid 1980s. Sadly it’s impossible to live in cities on the cheap these days.

By: Frances Donnelly

Frances Donnelly — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:03:03 +0000

These tender portraits of young and creative people evoke a time when it was possible to come to London, live on little, while trying to make your way in your chosen career. Or whatever came along. The absence of such opportunities for cheap, fluid living means its almost impossible for young people to live in a major city, without a well paid job . Or indulgent parents. Or both.

By: achim

achim — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:22:25 +0000

Fascinating images from the midst of vibrant life. And at the same time, you can smell the danger and fear …

Love & Peace
ACHIM

By: Phil Cunningham

Phil Cunningham — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:44:59 +0000

I remember John Peat