Handsworth is an urban, inner city area of Birmingham. This developing area has a rich past, being a central part of the industrial revolution and having a post-World War II influx of West Indian and Afro-Caribbean communities. They were later joined by an influx of Sikhs from the Punjab region of India during the 1960s. The racial tension at this time continued to grow and erupted into a riot in 1981. Riots also occurred in 1985, 1991 and 2005, explained as "essentially an outburst of anger and resentment by young black people against the police”. (Lord Scarman, Senior English Judge, 1981) Despite the criminal climate, Handsworth celebrates the cultures of the immigrants who reside there. Festivals are held throughout the year to bring communities together and introduce neighbours to different customs from their respective heritages.

It is apparent through a walk in Handsworth that dilapidated buildings are either left desolate, or are layered upon with different cultures; Punjabi sweet shops, eastern European off-licences, Jamaican barbers, churches and temples. The streets are layered with the remnants of the conflict between crime and celebration. The prints in this series seek to piece together these remnants and evoke a ‘sense of place’. The three prints concern memory, place and story respectively; taking a look at what living in Handsworth entails, concerning the criminal climate, diverse history of individuals and layers of culture, of which I recognise some as my own.