Collected Portraits

Working at the French House plunges you headfirst into a very eclectic, artistic community: writers, artists, musicians, actors, media-folk and other assorted ne’er-do-wells. As a young woman fairly new to London, I was captivated by this network of eccentric and creative people, and worked at the French from 2000-2007. 

In 2003, I was sporadically finding passport photos in the street near where I lived in Peckham. I was very intrigued by them. Partly inspired by the film Amelie, I was keen to see more and wanted to start a collection of them. What if I collected them from the regulars at the pub? I put a sign up asking for them and this set off a collaboration that went on for over a year, and garnered over 100 contributions. Customers handed their photos to me, or left envelopes with photos and notes for me to pick up on my next shift. It regularly sparked conversations and laughter across the bar about each other’s histories and relationships. 

The plan had been to make a big artwork for the wall of the pub but I got waylaid by other projects, and the collection was put away for almost 20 years. 

In 2019, my friend James Birch suggested I apply to take part in the Tabletop Museum event at the Art Workers’ Guild, founded by another French House alumni, Stephen Fowler. After some thought, I decided this could be an opportunity to revisit my archive collection, and take it out for an excursion. Some people who originally gave photos came to the event, and many others were intrigued to see these tiny portraits. I was struck by how people engaged so enthusiastically and affectionately with these remnants from the past.

20 years after beginning my project, these little gems of machine made self-portraiture still fascinate me. Each one is a miniature work of art. Some are rejects for official papers, others cut out from passports and travel cards, with markings and traces of past journeys across London and the world. Some with blank expressions, mundane and lonely for necessary documentation. Others are in the realms of performance, having fun with fashion and poses, or playful togetherness with family members and friends. All of them, beautiful mysterious moments in time.

I love these little pictures. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do. 

Carla Borel, 2023