ON THE STREETS WITH PHOTOGRAPHER CURTIS PEACOCK
Curtis was born and raised in South London, where he still lives today. When he was 11 years old, his father introduced him to street photography which is now the main focus of his work. He goes out almost every day (when not under lockdown) photographing on the streets of central London.
“In the evening of sunny days, I often find myself standing on Oxford Circus, feeling the energy of the people walking by me. The warm sunlight that lights up faces in a beautiful golden yellow brings an otherwise ordinary day to life. As people cross the street they turn sideways to the light and their hair glows in the sunlight. Walking looks like dancing and the street is alive. People are meeting their friends and others are in a rush to get home from work. I stand still and I allow myself to become in sync with the rhythm of the street. I become completely aware of every subtle gesture around me, I am connected to the street.
I make photographs spontaneously, as and when I feel something happen. Often these happenings are only subtle gestures that are hardly noticeable. It is this that I am drawn to. I want to document that split second, something that only I experience. I want to put everything I see in that one moment into a photograph, while keeping the chaos arranged and well-formed. Everything has to come together for me to be happy with the photograph: the colour, the light, the action and the beauty.
I regularly remind myself to be open to what is new and what is happening now, because that is what photography is. I want to show in my photographs how I feel about the world around me.”
