Stephie Devred: the art of the everyday on Roman Road [Photoessay]
Photographer Stephie Devred turns everyday life on Roman Road into art with her dramatic, black and white portraits of well-known faces in our area.
The Roman, with its distinctive traditional cafes and markets, has been the subject of inspiration for many artists. French photographer Stephie Devred, 27, brings her own perspective on English life with her new photo series inspired by her everyday experiences in the local area.
‘I live a ten minute walk from the market so I come by quite a lot to do my shopping, or go for a walk.’
Devred was struck by the contrast between Roman Road’s East End street culture, and the sleeker corporate scene in nearby Shoreditch. It was the area’s cultural heritage – persisting amid surrounding commercialisation – that moved her to take a series of snaps of the people who live here.
‘I love capturing the individuality of people through photos. And they also tell me their stories. For instance, I shot this lady at Cafe Creme, who said she and her friends meet up at the cafe everyday and have a chat.’
Devred is also interested in the visual traits and fixtures along the high street that are familiar to many of us: the markets, the jewellery shops, the hairdressers and traditional cafes – which you’ll see in her photos below.
‘For instance, I took a photo of the hairdressers because I liked how old-school some of the haircuts looked. A lot of Roman Road feels like going back in time, which is what I love about the area.’
You can see the full series of her portraits below.
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The first photo is of my aunties!!