Ridley Road Market (2019) — Social Art Library

By

Tamara Stoll

“When I first walked Ridley Road with my camera I was living just a few minutes from the market. I kept returning to it for eight years. This book, of narratives recorded in the market, of materials I collected and those donated to me alongside my own photographs, attempts to piece together what it is that makes this place unique.”

— Tamara Stoll

Ridley Road Market has been serving the diverse communities of Dalston in East London since the 1880s. Sociologist Sophie Watson describes the market as a “hub of connection, interconnections and social interaction”. This book developed during an eight-year engagement with Ridley Road in which Tamara Stoll switched roles between photographer, market trader and oral historian. Weaving together photographs, archival materials, personal narratives, newspaper cuttings and a series of postcards, this book comprises an exploration of the street’s social and material fabric and a collective writing of the many histories that have unfolded here. The multitude of voices within these pages address threats such as gentrification but also unite in appreciation of Ridley Road as a precious cultural and social space. During this project, Tamara ran a market stall trading photo postcards for oral histories of the market.

More information: https://www.tamarastoll.com/Ridley-Road-Market

Featured

Tamara Stoll

Born and raised in rural southern Germany in the 1980s, Tamara Stoll has been living and working in London for the past 15 years. A friend once observed “You are not a street photographer, you take photographs of streets.” Tamara's interest is in the street as social space and the individuals and groups shaping it. She sees public spaces and their communities, often transcultural in nature, increasingly threatened by gentrification and marginalisation. Working collectively and collaboratively is as important to her as documenting public space in the city of today. Tamara's practice is characterised by community engagement; linking documentary photography with social exchanges and dialogue. These activities feed into public interventions, workshops, events, community records, exhibitions and publishing.

https://www.tamarastoll.com/