Park life: photos of London in lockdown
- Text by Huck
- Photography by Theo McInnes
The UK has been in lockdown for the last three weeks. During that time, our lives have changed dramatically, with many of us now limited to just a single outing a day.
South London photographer Theo McInnes has been documenting these brief, government-mandated excursions. “I’ve been walking around my local green space, Kennington Park,” he says. “It takes on new forms every day, rain or shine, with people setting up miniature gyms or walking with loved ones – anything to catch a small break from being confined to our own homes.”
The ongoing project, shot on medium format black and white film, aims to capture how our outdoor world is responding to the coronavirus crisis.
“I think it’s really interesting looking at these spaces and the vital role they play in alleviating the inevitable and sometimes taxing symptoms of cabin fever,” he explains. “People often refer to London’s parks as the city’s lungs, and I think now more than ever they are playing a crucial role in giving people that very much needed breath of fresh air.”
“There’s also definitely still an energy present in the parks – they stood out to me as these little oases surrounded by all the deserted streets and shut up shops, which made me think that our little green spaces would be a really interesting thing to document and photograph.”
See more of the project below.
See more of Theo McInnes’s work on his website, or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
Maryam El Gardoum is breaking new shores for Morocco’s indigenous surfers
The Amazigh Atlantic — Through her groundbreaking career and popular surf school, the five-time Moroccan champion is helping women find their places in the waves.
Written by: Sam Haddad
Youth violence’s rise is deeply concerning, but mass hysteria doesn’t help
Safe — On Knife Crime Awareness Week, writer, podcaster and youth worker Ciaran Thapar reflects on the presence of violent content online, growing awareness about the need for action, and the two decades since Saul Dibb’s Bullet Boy.
Written by: Ciaran Thapar
Volcom teams up with Bob Mollema for the latest in its Featured Artist Series
True to This — The boardsports lifestyle brand will host an art show in Biarritz to celebrate the Dutch illustrators’ second capsule collection.
Written by: Huck
A visual trip through 100 years of New York’s LGBTQ+ spaces
Queer Happened Here — A new book from historian and writer Marc Zinaman maps scores of Manhattan’s queer venues and informal meeting places, documenting the city’s long LGBTQ+ history in the process.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Nostalgic photos of everyday life in ’70s San Francisco
A Fearless Eye — Having moved to the Bay Area in 1969, Barbara Ramos spent days wandering its streets, photographing its landscape and characters. In the process she captured a city in flux, as its burgeoning countercultural youth movement crossed with longtime residents.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Tony Njoku: ‘I wanted to see Black artists living my dream’
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s avant-garde electronic and classical music hybridist Tony Njoku.
Written by: Tony Njoku
