As we were to record our surroundings in Elephant and Castle, that includes the people that inhabit the space. I have always been fascinated by this form of illustration. In my spare time I create small zines of the places I am in e.g. a train journey. People conversations are a massive part of this and it reflects how they view the space they are in. I have always loved observing the way people occupy space and their interactions with the space.

Carrying a sketchbook around with me as I walk through Elephant and Castle as it develops my visual vocabulary of the area. It changes my perception of the environment and forces me to reflect how I myself carry myself when in the area. E&C is an area with a lot of commuters, it is an extremely large junction of four roads, several of which lead to central London. The history of the area even dates back to Roman times where there were crossroads that allowed access into Londonium.

The name Elephant and Castle could possibly come from a coaching inn open in 1765 called Elephant and Castle. There is a chance that a form of tavern existed earlier than this, because there is a reference to the ‘Elephant’ in Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, which was written around 1601.

‘In the south suburbs, at the Elephant, is best to lodge’

wrote the playwright. However, Stephen Humphrey, who wrote the definitive history of Elephant & Castle, has argued that this more likely refers to a place called the “Elephant on Bankside”, as Bankside at that time is an area that Shakespeare would have known well.

In my visual note taking of Elephant and Castle, with the contextual research of the history of the area I feel like a journalist reporting on the lifestyle of occupants. This style reminds me of Olivier Kugler, who I have previously researched for past project, who’s illustrations are the perfect example of visual journaling of people.

In response to Kugler’s work I may include some writing of local conversations I had with people at the time of creating the images. Although that may be difficult for me as I am introverted but I may be able to include snippets of conversations I overhear. Although in an ethical sense, is it right for me to do that unasked? Maybe if I just include one or two words out of context so there is no possible way to link it back to a specific person and not include any personal topics. However, how personal are the topics if they are speaking loud enough in public for me to hear? I’m not sure it is slightly iffy. Unless I just gain the courage to talk to strangers, Londoners can be unkind, I too would act weird if someone random just started asking me random questions…