My investigation, The Afterlife of Council Housing: Penshurst, explored whether or not the “Right to Buy” policy has transformed the social fabric of a housing estate once defined by collective ownership. Through photography, video, and recorded self-conversation, I aimed to understand if this shift from communal to private has reshaped the way residents inhabit and relate to shared spaces. Two readings from the course resonate with my work through different relationships of theme, form, and process:
i. In The Gleaners and I (2000), Agnès Varda begins her documentary as an investigation into the tradition of gleaning — collecting what is left behind after the harvest. Through this lens, she explores how the practice of gleaning has transformed in contemporary society: Who are the modern gleaners? What are their intentions, their meanings, their purposes? Along the way, Varda discovers that although people may be engaged in the same act, their backgrounds and motivations differ entirely. More than simply documenting, she becomes part of the inquiry herself.
Similarly, my investigation adopted a process of observation and reflection. By photographing every door and categorising them into terms and assumptions, I sought to understand if the “Right to Buy” policy has altered the social dynamics of the estate. Like Varda, I found myself both documenting and participating: the act of photographing, naming, and questioning became a form of gleaning, gathering traces of what remains of communal life. Through this process, my position shifted from that of an observer to an inquirer situated within the narrative of transformation itself.
ii. In The Neighborhood from Species of Spaces and Other Pieces (1974), Georges Perec provides a sense of place by observing the ordinary in meticulous detail. He describes everything that happens in the present moment, tracking down common things and outlining the contours of what usually go unnoticed with a light and humorous touch. Through this process of attention, Perec invites us to rediscover the familiar and to question what shapes our surroundings.
Similarly, I approached the Penshurst estate through walking, recording voice notes, and transcribing self-conversations. By tracing the corridors, stairwells and areas I had never stepped into before, I attempted to capture the atmospheres and overlooked details of the site. Like Perec, I used description and reflection as a way to provoke questions: how does the doors, sounds, and routes construct a sense of belonging, and what do these small details reveal about the transformation from collective to private?
Together, these two readings framed my investigation both thematically and methodologically. Varda’s exploration of what remains after social and material shifts paralleled my inquiry into the afterlife of council housing, while Perec’s attentive observation of the everyday informed my method of documentation and reflection.
References:
• Varda, A. (2000) The Gleaners and I. France: Ciné-Tamaris.
• Perec, G. (1997) Species of Spaces and Other Pieces. Translated by J. Sturrock. London: Penguin Books.
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