Taken in 1902 in a common lodging house in Spitalfields, everything in this photograph suggests an inventory of a very specific period of time and location.
Labour, misery, promiscuity, but also self-esteem of a mother who unites and reassures. The youngest ones seem to be the most destitute: grimy, shoeless, exhausted, dazed but surrounded. Each character tells its own story. A Mother fights with serenity and steadfastness for her children’s survival. Her two eldest daughters assist her and the oldest boy is already attentive and protective. Life is hard and furnishings are sober. Hanging on the wall are a few photographs from the time of the good old days. Off-frame, we imagine the cold, polluted city. The colour of life is grey and drab. Everything is helpless, hopeless, unrelieved, and dirty. Everything is precarious.
Taken in 1902 in a common lodging house in Spitalfields, everything in this photograph suggests an inventory of a very specific period of time and location.
Labour, misery, promiscuity, but also self-esteem of a mother who unites and reassures. The youngest ones seem to be the most destitute: grimy, shoeless, exhausted, dazed but surrounded. Each character tells its own story. A Mother fights with serenity and steadfastness for her children’s survival. Her two eldest daughters assist her and the oldest boy is already attentive and protective. Life is hard and furnishings are sober. Hanging on the wall are a few photographs from the time of the good old days. Off-frame, we imagine the cold, polluted city. The colour of life is grey and drab. Everything is helpless, hopeless, unrelieved, and dirty. Everything is precarious.
