After three years photographing the orators and hecklers at London’s Speakers Corner, Jan Enkelmann’s work will now to be showcased in a two-day exhibition at the Embassy Tea Gallery, hosted by The Team.
Public oratory has a strong tradition in Great Britain with arguably the most famous location celebrating this to be Speakers’ Corner. Located at the northeast corner of Hyde Park, Speakers’ Corner is where this tradition is kept alive with both orators and hecklers alike. Where historical personalities such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Winston Churchill spoke amongst the lesser-known speakers and eccentrics, today this area of one of London’s most famous parks still marks a place where anyone is welcome to stand up and give their opinion.
Serious Conviction is a collection of carefully curated photographs documenting the eclectic people of Speakers’ Corner: the unique mix of orators, preachers, attention seekers, tourists, schoolchildren and Sunday afternoon strollers from nearby Bayswater or Kensington.
Enkelmann took three years to study and photograph the people who showed up rain or shine, to test their opinions and convictions against a difficult crowd.
“What attracts me to this place and inspired me to take photographs is the passion with which people proclaim, argue and defend their convictions.”
The challenge lay in capturing the strength and passion in each of the speakers -something that could not be uncovered in a single visit, but is revealed by experiencing it over a length of time.
Originally from Stuttgart, Germany, Jan Enkelmann has been living and working in London for 15 years. Jan is partnering with The Team, the brand communications agency where he works as Creative Lead, to produce the exhibition.
Serious Conviction exhibition opens to the public on 28 & 29 November 11-5pm at the Embassy Tea Gallery, 195-205 Union Street, London SE1 0LN