The ongoing photography series ‘Tooting’ takes an in-depth look at multicultural community of the South London suburb. Photographer Paul Bence talks about his impressions over the last four years.
London is one of those cities that has millions of people who go about their daily grind without noticing each other. For the most part, people keep to themselves. To Paul Bence that’s an alien experience, he tells us.
“I’m from a small town in South Wales where you can’t cross the road without someone saying hello,” the photographer says. “It means that I am drawn to this isolation and when choosing the people I photograph, I often try and capture some of this disconnection from the real world; people lost in their own subconscious.”
Tooting is 2.5 miles away from Paul’s house. “It’s a busy small town on the outskirts of South London which from the moment I started shooting there strangely reminded me of home,” he explains.
“I think it’s incredibly multi-cultural, friendly and open to new people.”
The idea of the project is totake an in-depth look at the people of Tooting and build up a picture of what it’s been like to live there during the last four years.
See more of Paul Bence’s original South London projects on his website or you can follow him on Tumblr or Twitter.
