I don’t fold under pressure

How do you tell a story about South London?

Photographer Erik van Cuyk traveled to South London neighborhoods like Peckham, Brixton and Croydon between 2021 and 2023. He chose locations made famous by gang violence and stabbings. Van Cuyk became intrigued by the cold statistics in the reporting; sometimes about young people as young as 13 as perpetrators or victims. Unreal armageddon-like stories but where there is also much more than that to be found. Van Cuyk looked for context in the street scene, among other things. That, supplemented with honest, vulnerable and yet powerful portraits of young people trying to build their lives as drill-rappers, provides a special look at big-city issues that are also becoming relevant in our Dutch cities.

“With a change of point of view, a step to the left or right, I show a completely different world. And maybe with that a different world view is created?”