I made this picture while wandering around Bow in 2003. It’s my first glimpse of grime, which exploded from this part of the city into such a significant UK cultural expression. A couple of years later I’d see the boy to the right of the frame in the local youth clubs. He was the youngest who would grapple for the mic at those chaotic sessions that were grime’s original underground, and used to emcee with the name Little Shit. Later he became Big Shizz.
Grime has given me so much in London — most of all a sense of belonging in a country where I had rarely felt at home since arriving here when I was 10. After graduation I would often go and live in other countries, and this picture was made soon after I had returned from Amsterdam to try again and settle in London.
Somehow I lacked confidence here — a feeling which stems from school days — and had always been a bit of a misfit. But I found acceptance among the people of the council estates — and also their respect as my work became known, which gave me more confidence. I have become good friends with people in my photographs, and sometimes while walking down Roman Road or wherever I bump into someone who remembers me from the youth clubs, I feel a great warmth as I give thanks for their welcoming smile.
