Guest Speaker- Nicola Muirhead
On the 16th of October in the afternoon full of talks/getting to know more about the University, we had three guest speakers who came to talk to us about their work as photographers and what they are currently working on. The three photographers were Nicola Muirhead, Nadia Ryder and Daniel Regan in which were all very different photographers from different backgrounds and situations in life.
Reading what the residents say and how the images are portrayed, I began to understand that every person when they first moved in was just happy to have a place that they can call home and how that even though they thought negatively in the past, times have changed and they wouldn't change their surroundings that they call home. Even it got me thinking about the types of projects I could be able to do in my hometown that also has a personal link that inspired me.
After the devastation of Grenfell, Nicola decided to go around to nearby social housing estates to document of lives after the fire from people that surround it a witnessed the devastation that occurred right on their doorstep. Most people where angry, upset and very emotional about how the council let something like this happen and not know how dangerous the building material actually was which I completely agree with because now the survivors don't have permanent homes to be able to go to on a daily basis. Every resident that Nicola has spoken to since the fire are now scared for their own safety and wondered exactly how safe was the estate they lived in.
The way that Nicola Muirhead has documented the lives of so many impacted is inspiring and I hope that the project carries on until the day in which nobody has to worry about their buildings again. I also feel as if her work could be able to inspire mine and my groups To Begin project because the pictures of the people she has taken, still shows the type of community that they still hold after all the tragedy that has happened around their homes.
References
https://www.nicolamuirhead.com/
