In 2022-23 Historic England commissioned several photographers to work with local communities to capture images representative of their local high streets. This formed part of the Picturing High Streets project. In Leicester, Khatun was commissioned as photographer. She wrote the following text to describe her work on the project: "The Picturing High Street’s photo-project is a look at what makes a city great. Photographing shopkeepers, every-day passerbys and facilitating workshops locally, has allowed me to carry out my intent: to champion people and my City.
This body of work was made possible through trust, kindness and a mutual understanding. The intent has always been to preserve: preserve the City, preserve its people, preserve the stories, preserve the kinship, preserve the love we fall in and out of, preserve home. And to be seen. Photography is a powerful means of archiving, and one which is incredibly crucial. It is important for anyone and everyone to have access to a records office, an organised archive system, in which they are able to look up the rich histories of different spaces and places, to see the people that lived in these cities and/or passed through, to see people that look like them, to have their existences and histories validated.
Jamila’s Legacy are a brilliant Mental Health organisation in Leicester, who bring people together to increase awareness and deepen understanding of mental health, especially amongst the South Asian diaspora. We teamed up to explore the notion of archiving, story-telling and memories. We did this through conversation, photo-walks, writing and collaging workshops. We created a space in which we gave power to our existences in Leicester - mapping out journeys we took through the Heritage Action Zones when we were younger, with friends, running errands, needing space. The workshops, which eventually produced collages, honoured these journeys and stories that many had shelved away, assuming their unimportance. The residency was massively influenced by The Handsworth Project and Hidden History - Lost Portraits of Bradford. Initially, I set out to create a structured body of work that focuses more on a set of questions that I pose to individuals, about Leicester, Church Gate and Granby Street. Upon shooting however, I quickly realised that there was more to the project than a standardised question and answer set-up. Photographing all the people I came across, gave me an insight into a Leicester that I hadn’t been privy to before. My understanding of Leicester had always been selective, as it has been curated by my experiences, memories and fondness. This project has shone a light on what Leicester means to different people. For some, it has always been home, for others, it is new. Some people are hoping to just pass through. Some didn’t even choose to be here. Some don’t think much of the HAZ, whilst others are more hopeful. These portraits taught me to remove expectations and any unconscious reservations. Through it, I developed a fresher understanding of what Leicester means to different people, and what it means to me. The accompany text therein, are not interviews, but incorporate the moments before, during and after the image was taken. It is a mixture of myself, and those involved in the photographs..
The portraits sometimes include a netting backdrop, which I bought from Dunelm (who actually started out in Leicester Market, selling curtains, in 1979 - full circle!). It became more than a means of providing neater imagery, but instead, was used to provide a familiar emblem. A loose nod to Leicester’s rich history with textiles, it is a reminder of home, childhood and growing up - some of the prevalent themes in this work. I strongly believe that Leicester City, and the historic streets of Church Gate and Granby Street, would not be what they are without the people that hold it up. The shopkeepers that have faced ongoing hardships, the kids figuring out adolescence, young people wanting to find bigger things, people who find themselves here, people floating through, bustling coffee shops, jewellery shops on quiet roads, barbers with more buzz from the people than the trimmers. Corners and pockets of endless heritage. It all deserves archiving and preservation." The photographer added the following context about this image: "A handful of the aunties. It was very bright, hence the illegible signs being held up. But Rehana auntie (in the middle, and Founder of Jamila’s Legacy) found out she passed her GCSE Maths that morning, after her third try. She whispered it to me, and my heart leapt in big strides of joy and pride. It took me three tries too (we both have dyscalculia). I admire Rehana auntie a lot. I have spent a large portion of my life doing so, and looking up to her. This was another one of those moments. She asked if she could hold up a sign to commemorate. It reads ‘I did it.. Alh (Alhamdulillah).’ Naturally, the other aunties cheered Rehana auntie on and so, wanted to hold up signs too. I guess, in their own rights, they’ve done a lot too.
So we celebrate them, we celebrate Rehana auntie and we celebrate them turning up, speaking about mental health, when we’ve spent so long being quiet about it." 'Picturing England's High Streets' commission by QUAD/FORMAT, Historic England and Photoworks.
Images by Khatun assisted by Nawaal Omar.
This is part of the Job: HEC01/128/01/09/01 Picturing High Streets Photographer Residencies - Khatun: Leicester, Portraits; within the Volume: HEC01/128/01/09 Picturing High Streets Photographer Residencies - Khatun: Leicester; within the Sub Series: HEC01/128/01 Picturing High Streets: Photographer Residencies; within the Series: HEC01/128 Picturing High Streets; within the Collection: HEC01 Historic England
© Khatun
Photographer: Khatun
People Posed
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