Horrifying and illuminating stories.
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Horrifying and illuminating stories.
Its been a few months since I went out to photograph Colnbrook IRC, unfortunately I’ve been having issues with my laptop so I haven’t actually been able to publish anything new, but today a lovely new laptop arrived in the post coincidentally as my old one completely died and I have a little free time to go back over some of these photos.
Unlike Yarl’s Wood IRC The Verne is a relative newcomer to the detention of people claiming asylum in the UK, having said that up until the end of 2013 it operated as a class C Male Prison, so this isn’t exactly new territory.
Situated onto of the Isle of Portland in dorset overlooking the cliffs and beaches lining the english channel, it used to be military citadel defending the port below. Theres a tremendous sense of history here, and the IRC itself is lined with abandoned houses, gardens overgrown with elder and blackberries and a small and sterile jailhouse cafe.
First week or so in Berlin, and I’m surrounded by very pretty abandoned buildings and graffiti. On the third floor you have grown to the same level as the tops of the trees surrounding the building and the light and the trees dance across the floors and walls. It used to be an East German radio station, now it isn’t.
Arrived back on Sunday, after driving down with Leeds No Borders to deliver tents, sleeping bags, clothes, food, kitchen stuff etc all donated by people from dotted around Leeds. We also spent some time collecting tents, sleeping bags, food and ridiculous amounts of alcohol after the Leeds Festival.
Similar to the post below, the zines were put together in time for the Leeds Zine Fair organised by footprint workers co op on the 8th of august 2015. Again within this book are a selection of my photographs taken of couchsurfers met in 2013.