Fulham photographer Alfie Fisher used the Covid lockdown to focus on the isolation and loneliness it caused. The results will form a thought-provoking exhibition of images in South Park.
Alfie, 22, of Munster Road, is set to unveil his show ‘Figures Found’ at the Sands End Arts & Community Centre on 20 January, where it will run for 10 days.
So, what’s it all about, Alfie? “The project began when Covid hit,” he explained. “Although I was in Sri Lanka, I wanted to focus on how figures, when composed in their surroundings, cope with loneliness and isolation... on the effect that it has on people.”
Fulham lad
Alfie, who has always lived and studied in Fulham, embraces both digital and film-based photography in the new exhibition.
He is particularly pleased that the show is being staged at what ranks as one of his favourite buildings, the Peterborough Road centre which has been hailed as a modern architectural gem and which was named 2022’s best new building in London by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
It was created by Mae Architects on the site of the disused Clancarty Lodge in South Park, at no cost to local taxpayers after H&F Council’s leader Stephen Cowan negotiated funding for the 660sqm project from Thames Tideway and Chelsea FC.
“I’m a great fan,” Alfie said. “Funnily enough, I grew up near South Park in Fulham, and I remember that old lodge as I used to play around it when I was younger.”
Designed to have a minimal environmental impact, the beautiful centre is truly a community space for people from all backgrounds. The central courtyard, cafe and dance studio in the building are fully accessible, while the bricks used in its construction were all made from recycled waste.
Mental health
The new exhibition, which is free to enter, has been devised in partnership with the Lost Bond Project, a youth collective raising awareness of mental health issues through creative arts, and will support the charities YoungMindsUK and Place2Be.
One aim is to refocus public attention on the importance of mental health awareness, a subject heightened by the isolation felt by so many during the months of lockdown.
“Recently I’ve been taking photos of musicians and fashion, as well as street photography,” said Alfie, who works in a mix of colour and black-and-white.
In all there are around 35 framed pictures in the exhibition, with some of the frames being as intriguing as the photographs within them. One is the fuselage window of a British Airways aircraft! Next up for Alfie after the Sands End show is a new photographic project studying how people cope with grief and loss in a digital age.
Figures Found runs from 20-30 January at the Sands End Arts & Community Centre, Peterborough Road, SW6 3EZ. Visit the SEACC website for details or to hire the space.
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