Upon the High Street

Upon the High Street is an on-going project, shot in collaboration with photographer Daniel Loveday. The images in this project focus on the high street and surrounding streets of Chatham in Kent, forming part of the Medway towns. The two photographers make regular trips here, documenting the people and landscapes that they find. Chatham is a town steeped in history, situated between the River Medway and the A2, a major road that leads to London. Away from the high street, the town is made up of rows of Victorian terraced housing and council flats. The town grew alongside both the dockyard and army barracks. With the closure of the dockyard in 1984 came the loss of 7000 jobs and cut a large proportion of the income for the area, leaving the working-class town that remains. Anti-social behaviour stemming from alcohol and drug misuse is rife and the youth unemployment levels are well above the national average. Medway has seen a large increase in the diversity of its inhabitants over the past 20 years. From 2001 to 2011 the ethnic minority population of Kent and Medway has increased by over 100%. With this movement of minorities into the area comes an added variety to the cultures that make usage of the different spaces in Chatham, particularly along the high street. In 2016, 64.1% of Medway voted in favour of Brexit. The project looks to document the possible ‘last generation’ of high street shopper, as well as celebrating the diversity of the town.