Shane Vincent’s favourite page from his new photo book is one just about being sat in cars. He lists the activities that they bring to mind: “Racing, drinking, smoking, opening up,” Shane writes. “Most young men don’t generally talk about our feelings, but for some reason, in those cars, we do. The best memories are there. Laughs, pain, plotting, bonding, everything.”
Shane’s zine, titled Nuff Love., published by TRAPDOOR, is all about special moments like these. It tours every part of London, taking us through packed concerts and packed tubes to empty balconies and quiet skylines. His handwritten annotation on one page explores the gentrification in Poplar, and on another the details about his go-to ice cream truck pick (a screwball, on warm overcast days). “I wanted to share my slice of London culture,” says Shane. “Having spent all 27 years of my life so far in north London — Camden, East Finchley and Wood Green — you see a lot. With the city changing so fast, I’ve been losing a lot of places that held memories for me, so I try to document as much as I can.”
The photo book, Shane says, has evolved with his life and career. “There are ups and downs, they come sharp and often in London,” he says, adding that photography has always helped keep him sane. “I don’t show everything,” he adds, “but hopefully it gives a little insight to where I’m at in life.” As a child, Shane spent a lot of his time immersed in film and music. His visual influences today span wide across the cultural spectrum: from Tarantino movies to album covers by image-makers like music photographer Jonathan Mannion. “I didn’t live with my dad, but me and my brother would go to his every other weekend. He’d just spend the whole time playing music. From Dizzee Rascal and 50 Cent to old reggae, jazz, Guns & Roses, all of that.”
As a lifelong Londoner, the breakneck pace of the city’s evolution often leaves Shane wanting for the past. And this zine is the perfect way to do it, a poignant love letter to a city constantly changing, its future always in flux. “I’ve seen so many places knocked down that I wanted to show my future kids, but can’t now. But it is what it is,” the photographer continues. “That’s why it’s good to photograph it, so these places and people are here in permanent marker.”
Credits
All images courtesy Shane Vincent