Everybody Says Hi! Portraits of Brixton people

An accomplished photographer is set to launch a snapshot of Brixton life as her debut exhibition.

Diana Thompson will launch Everybody Says Hi, a collection of portraits of Brixton people, at Kaff Bar, Atlantic Road, on Wednesday (18 April).

The Camden-based photographer has a background in fashion and been published in newspapers like l’Officiel and Le Monde, though she has never put on her own solo show before now and confessed today that she was a little nervous.

Thompson was asked to put together the exhibition by Kaff Bar owner Steve Ross after she and a friend started the monthly Whiskey Kittens club night there in January.

She told the Blog over a cup of tea at the Ritzy this afternoon: “When we started up Whiskey Kittens I felt like I was living in Brixton and meeting so many amazing people.  At first I thought I could do some landscapes locally but then I thought it would be much more interesting to do something about the people.”

Thompson said she used Twitter and Facebook to find her subjects, as well as capturing people she passed on the street.

“I have never done anything where I have used social media as a tool to find subjects,” she said. “The Brixton hastag brought up so many things it blew me away.”

The Camden-based photographer helped set up the monthly Whiskey Kittens  in January.  Self-confessed David Bowie fanatic Thompson said she got the title for the exhibition from one of the Brixton legend’s tracks, Everyone Says Hi, but maintains there is a dual the meaning. “There is a big sense of community in Brixton, and people are generally friendly,” she said.

The launch event takes place from 8pm until 11pm at Kaff Bar, 64 – 68 Atlantic Road, Brixton on Wednesday.