Mark Cowper: 'Everyone likes to peek into someone else's world'

"I was curious to see what other people had done with their flats," says photographer Mark Cowper, who has lived on and off in Ethelburga Tower in Battersea, south London, for 20 years. "It's fascinating how much self-expression can go into one small space. And everyone likes to peek into someone else's world, don't they?" Photograph: Mark Cowper

Cowper doorstepped his neighbours over the course of a year, asking if he could photograph their living rooms right there and then, just as he found them. "I was surprised how many people let me in," he says. Some were in the middle of the ironing, others were on the phone, many were watching TV. "People wanted to tidy up first, but I wanted to capture that moment, how they were using the room, how the furniture was arranged," Cowper says. Photograph: Mark Cowper

His impromptu visits took place from summer 2007 to 2008. "I practised in my own flat first, getting the camera in the right position so that I could be quick." Photograph: Mark Cowper

The apartments are identical in construction: two-bed, split-level maisonettes, each 5m x 3m of living space with a glass-panelled door leading on to a small balcony. The pictures are intriguing because "the same neutral space has been interpreted in so many ways", says Alex Corney, curator at the Geffrye Museum, east London, which is staging an exhibition of Cowper's photographs. Photograph: Mark Cowper

One resident has turned their flat into a mock Victorian parlour, with floral carpet and heavy furniture. Another has created an all-white, Japanese-style den. Some have even knocked down the wall between the living room and the kitchen. A common factor is the abundance of gadgetry: remote controls, DVD players and the ubiquitous flickering flatscreen. Photograph: Mark Cowper

Ethelburga Tower: At Home In A High-Rise runs from 7 April to 31 August at the Geffrye Museum, London E2
For more information ring 020-7739 9893, or visit geffrye-museum.org.uk Photograph: Mark Cowper