Freya Najade’s personal series captures the London borough of Hackney, and those who call it home.

Despite tremendous gentrification in recent decades, Hackney remains one of the most diverse boroughs in London, with more than 89 different languages spoken. When Freya moved to London in 2008, she moved straight to Hackney and loved it for exactly that: the mostly very peaceful coexistence of so many ways of being, different cultures, religions, languages, ethnic groups, and social and economic classes.

All this is reflected not only in the people but also in the landscape and energy of the borough.

Hackney Colours is a lyrical exploration of her neighbourhood, aiming to capture its essence and celebrate difference and the people of this borough. Freya depicts mundane little moments of daily life around her, fleeting encounters and Hackney’s ever-changing landscape, attempting to preserve a moment in time as gentrification steadily sanitises the eccentricity and rawness that once defined this area of London.