Miss D had to stop working in 2014 on medical grounds. All photos and captions by Kristian Buus.
Kristian Buus: I've lived in Hackney for 20 years. I've seen Hackney change a lot over that time. It's a lot more affluent than it used to be which is a good thing but I was always aware that that doesn't count for everyone. There's a big part of Hackney's population for whom things haven't changed.Food bank figures are talked about a lot, especially to talk about poverty and food poverty. I was aware that there were food banks in Hackney so I thought I'd look into it. I wanted to hear people's stories about why they needed to use food banks and tell those stories to the wider world.I started back in 2013 and have been doing the project on and off over the last five years. Because it's all done off my own back, it was a matter of finding the time and also dependent on finding people who were willing to share their stories.
Robert has had two heart implants and is diagnosed with epilepsy. He recently had his benefits stopped.
I set up a mobile studio at two out of the four food banks in Hackney, which were churches and had the facilities for me to set up. I would set up in the church while the food bank would be set up in an annex building next door.I'd then spend time in the annex where people would come in to get food and see the volunteers who deal with their cases. I would have my camera round my neck so it was obvious I was a photographer. I would just talk to people and approach people who I thought were approachable but would leave people who I felt were visibly in a bad place.
Paula Couch and son. Paula failed an ATOS medical test and has had her benefits cut for a couple of months.
People would quite happily talk to me but then a lot of those people didn't want to talk on camera. Some people didn't want that part of their life documented and possibly be seen by future employers, for example. People come to the food bank for many different reasons, all equally valid reasons, which I felt was the story to tell. But it's also the hardest story to tell.With the people who were happy to talk on camera, they felt it was a very important story to tell. Some of them wanted to talk about the injustice that had been happening to them. They're all aware that it happens a lot. They feel like it's not right.
Tom has suffered from depression for years due to a violent upbringing. He is gay and can't tell his family out of fear of a violent reaction.
It started as a portrait project but I wanted to hear people's stories behind the portraits. First, I decided to record the stories, then I decided to video-record them. Then I thought, let's video-record and take a portrait so the stories would work on a page and a screen.Rather than just have talking heads with cuts of the food bank, I decided to shoot on a green screen so I could superimpose the food behind them. I wanted to show the food people are given. The food bank try to source the best food possible and accommodate dietary needs but it's still tinned food and non-perishables. They're tied in by what they've got.
Chetna is a mother of four who had to leave home due to an abusive marriage. She is currently sofa-surfing in Hackney and finds it difficult to make ends meet with only £70 a week and no home of her own.
I think it's developed into something bigger than what I set out to achieve. I met a lot of people and talked to a lot of people who are not in project for various reasons, so I've learned a lot.
Danny works one day a week in a call centre and is looking for work as an actor. On his low income, even small financial upsets can break his budget.
On a small scale, after talking to most of the people involved, they had a good experience talking about their issues. On a large scale, these people aren't just representing themselves but bigger issues. The more exposure, the better for this project because I hope it will create an understanding about food banks and the issues around them. The project could spread to other areas to generate understanding of what goes on in other local neighbourhoods, generate support for the food banks themselves, and be part of a bigger push for humanising the system.Let's hope that it does. Thank you for talking with me, Kristian.
Kristian Buus is a London-based freelance photographer. Voices from the Vault is showing at Diffusion photography festival in Cardiff until the end of May.