From Freya Najade’s personal series: a portrait of Ozan Figani, a hairdresser, poet and musician. Freya photographed Ozan in his century-old hair salon in Hackney, which he has run since 1999.

Born in Turkey into a Kurdish family, he came to the UK in his early twenties for political reasons. When he is not cutting hair, he writes. He has published seven books and written around 1,600 poems under his artist name, Figani. Much of his writing is connected to the life he left behind.

His customers know that he might pause a haircut to write down an idea. The future of the salon was uncertain as the building faced demolition, and he hoped to find another space nearby where he could continue his work and maintain his community.