Manuela Henao Restrepo

El Plan is a rural settlement situated at an altitude of  2600 meters  above sea levels in the mountains of  Antioquia in Colombia. These kind of settlements are smaller in size than villages and usually their economy is strongly linked with the provision of fresh food to large urban centres.   The peasants in Antioquia have been historically characterised as farmers, they  work their own land and that gives them a good economic status. In peasant society the family tends to be the social circle where people interact the most, this can  sometimes create hermetic societies. In El Plan, most of the population comes from this historic peasant culture and although part of them still plays traditional tasks such as growing food and flowers and stock breeding , much of the new generations are inclined to work in services or as employees .   This series of portraits and still life, depicts a changing peasant culture and society in which the family and religion still play a role, but where external influences , especially in the younger generation, have created  aesthetic and unique idiosyncrasies.

The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to establish a social security system. The years following the Second World War saw the emergence of the British welfare state as a response to the poverty and precarious economic circumstances left after the war. However, from the 70’s onwards the welfare state has been the focus of heated political debate and has suffered extensive budget cuts. One of the main arguments against the welfare system is that it creates a dependency culture amongst those who use it, maintaining precarious situations rather than encouraging people to move forward and improve their lifestyles. This series of images shows the material reality inhabited by those living on the breadline. These images aim yo convey the deeper realities of marginalisation and disenfranchisement that these people experience. The images focus in on the objects and living spaces as descriptors of the person who forms part of a socio-political frame; the final portrait is a subtle composition that allows the viewer's prejudices and empathy towards the subject to come into play.

When I came to London something that I notice is that there is a lot of litle stores, small bussines plenty of characters, they to me places where I can look inside the London´s culture.

The Pedro Club was established in 1929 by Baroness Harwood and was revived in the 1960’s with the support of Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who is still one of the clubs patrons today.Today the Pedro Club remains as one of the oldest functioning youth clubs within London.James Cook a local resident, a former British Super-Middleweight Champion, was alerted to the plight of the Pedro Club and set about organising a rescue programme, he formed a new management committee, and due to their arduous efforts the club reopened in 2003.In June 2007 James Cook was awarded an MBE within the Queen’s Honours List for Services to the Youth Justice in Hackney.

The Pedro's Youth Club was founded in the 60's after riots occurred in one of the most deprived areas of London, Clapton. The club was a way to give a place to the youth were they could spend their leisure hours, a way of taking them off the streets in an area where the high number of Council Estates was creating a guetho feeling. Nowadays, those estates still remain and Clapton is still a low income area, the Pedro's club is run just with the help of volunteers with the economic support of private donators. This series is about the heart of London culture and its the roughness and how it reflects in its inhabitants, it is about living surrounded by council estates, how it feels and how it conditions every aspect of life.