Black Lives Matter Hyde Park - Trafalgar Square

People gathered again to share, listen, educate and protest. There was a prominent presence of the LGBTQ+ crowd and a strong message of support (‘All Black Lives Matter’) from the allies, which was anticipating following Saturday’s Black Trans Lives Matter protest. My photo report is a mix of portraits and details documenting the message, energy, volume, settings and atmosphere of the event.

Kaos Live

Kaos’ activity has been suspended after the February edition, as the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic saw all the London clubs shut in March. After 3 months they decided to organise a live streamed, globally accessible event. I joined the team to document this very special instalment featuring sets from Dahc Dermur VIII, Lupus and Proteus with an introductory crash course to the new project - regenerative being.

London Black Lives Matter - Protesting, educating, supporting, documenting and demanding changes continues!

“Within 10 days of sustained protests:

  • Minneapolis bans use of choke holds.

  • Charges are upgraded against Officer Chauvin, and his accomplices are arrested and charged.

  • Dallas adopts a "duty to intervene" rule that requires officers to stop other cops who are engaging in inappropriate use of force.

  • New Jersey’s attorney general said the state will update its use-of-force guidelines for the first time in two decades.

  • In Maryland, a bipartisan work group of state lawmakers announced a police reform work group.

  • Los Angeles City Council introduces motion to reduce LAPD’s $1.8 billion operating budget.

  • MBTA in Boston agrees to stop using public buses to transport police officers to protests.

  • Police brutality captured on cameras leads to near-immediate suspensions and firings of officers in several cities (i.e., Buffalo, Ft. Lauderdale).

  • Monuments celebrating confederates are removed in cities in Virginia, Alabama, and other states.

  • Street in front of the White House is renamed "Black Lives Matter Plaza.”

  • Military forces begin to withdraw from D.C.

Also:

  • The really difficult public and private conversations that are happening about race and privilege.

  • The realizations some white people are coming to about racism and the role of policing in this country .

  • The self-reflection.

  • The internal battles exploding within organizations over issues that have been simmering or ignored for a long time. Some organizations will end as a result, others will be forever changed or replaced with something stronger and fairer.

Globally:

  • Protests against racial inequality sparked by the police killing of George Floyd are taking place all over the world.

  • Rallies and memorials have been held in cities across Europe, as well as in Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.

  • As the US contends with its second week of protests, issues of racism, police brutality, and oppression have been brought to light across the globe.

  • People all over the world understand that their own fights for human rights, for equality and fairness, will become so much more difficult to win if we are going to lose America as the place where 'I have a dream' is a real and universal political program," Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the US, told the New Yorker.

  • In France, protesters marched holding signs that said "I can't breathe" to signify both the words of Floyd, and the last words of Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man who was subdued by police officers and gasped the sentence before he died outside Paris in 2016.

  • Cities across Europe have come together after the death of George Floyd:

  • In Amsterdam, an estimated 10,000 people filled the Dam square on Monday, holding signs and shouting popular chants like "Black lives matter," and "No justice, no peace."

  • In Germany, people gathered in multiple locations throughout Berlin to demand justice for Floyd and fight against police brutality.

  • A mural dedicated to Floyd was also spray-painted on a stretch of wall in Berlin that once divided the German capital during the Cold War.

  • In Ireland, protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside of Belfast City Hall, and others gathered outside of the US embassy in Dublin.

  • In Italy, protesters gathered and marched with signs that said "Stop killing black people," "Say his name," and "We will not be silent."

  • In Spain, people gathered to march and hold up signs throughout Barcelona and Madrid.

  • In Athens, Greece, protesters took to the streets to collectively hold up a sign that read "I can't breathe."

  • In Brussels, protesters were seen sitting in a peaceful demonstration in front of an opera house in the center of the city.

  • In Denmark, protesters were heard chanting "No justice, no peace!" throughout the streets of Copenhagen, while others gathered outside the US embassy.

  • In Canada, protesters were also grieving for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old black woman who died on Wednesday after falling from her balcony during a police investigation at her building.

  • And in New Zealand, roughly 2,000 people marched to the US embassy in Auckland, chanting and carrying signs demanding justice.

  • Memorials have been built for Floyd around the world, too. In Mexico City, portraits of him were hung outside the US embassy with roses, candles, and signs.

  • In Poland, candles and flowers were laid out next to photos of Floyd outside the US consulate.

  • And in Syria, two artists created a mural depicting Floyd in the northwestern town of Binnish, "on a wall destroyed by military planes."

Before the assassination of George Floyd some of you were able to say whatever the hell you wanted and the world didn't say anything to you...

THERE HAS BEEN A SHIFT, AN AWAKENING...MANY OF YOU ARE BEING EXPOSED FOR WHO YOU REALLY ARE. #readthatagain

Don't wake up tomorrow on the wrong side of this issue. Its not too late to SAY, "maybe I need to look at this from a different perspective. Maybe I don't know what its like to be Black in America, to be Black.

Maybe, just maybe, I have been taught wrong."

There is still so much work to be done. It's been a really dark, raw week. This could still end badly. But all we can do is keep doing the work.

Keep protesting.

WE ARE NOT TRYING TO START A RACE WAR; WE ARE PROTESTING TO END IT, PEACEFULLY.

How beautiful is that?

ALL LIVES CANNOT MATTER UNTIL YOU INCLUDE BLACK LIVES.

YOU CANNOT SAY 'ALL LIVES MATTER' WHEN YOU DO NOTHING TO STOP SYSTEMIC RACISM & POLICE BRUTALITY.

YOU CANNOT SAY 'ALL LIVES MATTER' WHEN BLACK PEOPLE ARE DYING AND ALL YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT IS THE LOOTING.

YOU CANNOT SAY 'ALL LIVES MATTER' WHEN YOU ALLOW CHILDREN TO BE CAGED, VETERANS TO GO HOMELESS, AND POOR FAMILIES TO GO HUNGRY & LOSE THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE.

DO ALL LIVES MATTER? YES. BUT RIGHT NOW, ONLY BLACK LIVES ARE BEING TARGETED, JAILED, AND KILLED EN MASSE- SO THAT'S WHO WE'RE FOCUSING ON.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Power to the people. Share this far and wide. #endfascism”

(Source - Facebook)

Black Lives Matter and We Stand UK - Peaceful protest in London

On Saturday 31/05 I attended the first of the series of the planned London protests organised by Black Lives Matter and We Stand UK. I wanted to support the protests and the Movement through documenting the message bearing placards, the speeches and the energy and the presence of the people. As it happens when I photograph protests I also documented the presence of my fellow photographers and the media. It started with the gathering on Trafalgar Square, then we all walked to the US embassy in Nine Elms. The final stop was Parliament Square, which has been occupied by the protesters until the evening. #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #ldnblm #WeStandUK #KneelForFloyd #BlackLivesMatter

Unmasked Magazine - The Dancefloor Has Spoken

Many thanks to Luke and Lulu for choosing the photographs of them, both taken by me at Kaos, for their online interviews with Unmasked Magazine.

aside+extra. tumblr reactivation

Once in a while I return to my Tumblr and create new posts. They are made of photographs that I take in my free time, but are not necessarily part of a particular or a fully realised project. They visualise interweaved observations, ideas and emotions. I like to call them my mood board or semi-fictional diary, but the timings are too irregular for it to actually be any sort of a diary. At some point the headline beneath the title of the blog read: ‘An infinite set of photographs’. Now it says: ‘visual notes on ambience, objects, humans and environments’. It’s an outlet for the imagery I have urge to produce and share that goes beyond my usual type of work published via Instagram and other platforms. Probably as personal and as conceptual as it gets. In pre Instagram fashion. Tumbling with the times, rolling with the punches. Enjoy.

https://asideandextra.tumblr.com

Murmuration of Starlings - Collaboration with Szymon Brzóska and Barbara Drazkov

These are unprecedented times and creatives of many fields are unable to carry on with their work as usual. However despite being stuck at our different locations, we can still keep things moving and creative juices flowing thanks to the Internet.

I made an abstract experimental video for a new beautiful track composed by the talented Szymon Brzóska. Performed effortlessly by Barbara Drazkov.

Do_Gooders Vol 1

I'm excited and grateful to have some of my photographic work shot at KAOS London and Klub Verboten included in DO_GOODERS vol 1. Thank you Paraphilia Collective!

Hold on tight and treat yourself. The publication is available from Paraphilia Collective’s SHOP

Do_Gooders was created as a way to raise funds to support artists, creators and members of the UK BDSM and kink scene affected by the current situation.

This 80-page full-colour publication spans the spectrum of BDSM interests. Included within the 13 articles are photo essays, a one-act play about castration, a report on the UK Fet-Archive by their head archivist and a plethora of other tantalising smutty goodness.

Published by the Paraphilia Collective with contributions from:

@adelebrydges @athene_athene @conorflix @delta_elena @fuckthepost @hamishmacpherson @ladyacss @lukewanderson @oh.francoise @samm_rope 
@stella.polaris @t0Zt0Z @ukfetisharchive @zbigniewkotkiewicz & Shady Sadie

Kaos presents Rrose

The February edition of Kaos saw the return of Rrose, NWRMNTC, Polanski and Choronzon alongside a debut from L-Shape. The special guest, the art director and designer Tim Yip shot some footage for his ‘Love Infinity’ project featuring Lili and Dahc Dermur VIII.

DHENZE at VERV London

I documented the event at VERV London in Bethnal Green organised to present DHENZE’s next collection.

'Eurystheus on the Heap' at ICA

I took these production shots of ‘Eurystheus on the Heap’, which was performed as part of the INFERNO ICA takeover. Directed by Nick Finegan.

D&AD New Blood Shift Showcase

Kaos presents Kris Baha

A small selection of images from the February edition of Kaos, which was an all night session with the incredible Kris Baha.

Klub Verboten at Islington Metal Works

I’ve been collaborating with Klub Verboten for a while, producing visual content for their website, newsletters, merchandise promos and fundraising campaign. I also now started my club photographer residency with them. It began with their first night organised at Islington Metal Work/Elektrowerkz.

No to War with Iran

Claudia Palazzo - this foreign mansion

I documented a sharing of the outcomes of Claudia Palazzo's residency/ re/build / dancing/ commitment at GROW Tottenham.

The Text Bender – A Shop of Words by R.M. Sánchez-Camus

I documented the exhibition of community words created by artist R.M. Sánchez-Camus for HOME on High Street in Slough. I also photographed the community open mic that was part of the exhibition closing event.