This showcase series focuses on the photojournalism of Sven Loach. Sven is based in London and has been published by many media outlets including The Guardian.
Photophique caught up with Sven to give a little background to this series.
Sven, the photographs documented in this series are of a political nature, I guess if you are a photojournalist, London is one of the best cities that you could live in?
I do it firstly as a way of recording events, and if I happen to sell something, well that’s great. We’re living in such extraordinary times, and it would be a shame not to document these things. London is capital of the world in many respects, and the array of protests going on any given weekend is remarkable. This is what I’d miss most if I were to leave the city — not being in the thick of it.
Could you tell us about your experience of documenting these protests? There is obviously a highly-charged atmosphere at some of these events, are you ever concerned for your own safety, or that things might get out of control?
Most of the protests I’ve been attending for the last few years have been spirited but rarely aggressive. From pretty early on in a demo, I get this sense of how the police kettle is shaping up. You can move in and out of it with ease, but at a certain point, the time comes to exit. There was one time I was was caught up in a kettle during the Autumn 2010 Student Protests.
I was on my own and it was well past dark, and I did think this could be a long cold night of trouble. But I gathered up the confidence to approach a policeman and tell him I wanted to go home and he let me out without any fuss. I suppose not being dressed as a hardcore protester helped. As far as safety is concerned, I never really feel in danger even during the riots, but one must always be vigilant.
The images in this series were captured at various protests and riots in London between 2011 and 2013.
You can see more of Sven’s work via svenloach.org, Flickr, or 500px.
Photophique has express permission to publish these images and Sven Loach retains full copyright to all photographs featured in this showcase series.
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