The big picture: precarious lives and playfulness in a London square

Roland Ramanan spent more than 10 years documenting the evolution of a new public space in Hackney and its many and varied users

This picture is the cover image of Dominoes, a new photobook by Roland Ramanan that tells the story of a unique public space in east London, Gillett Square. The square was opened in Hackney, in one of the most deprived wards in the UK, by London mayor Ken Livingstone in 2006, on a site that was previously a car park. Neighbouring derelict factory premises were redeveloped by a local co-operative as a culture centre, and a series of small business units were created around the new space. The ambition was to establish a communal area “with the potential to become something specific – or remain not really anything at all… a place to see, hear, feel, smell, taste and discover wonderful and incredible things”.

Since 2012, Ramanan has been documenting how those civic hopes and ambitions turned out. He has watched as life of that square became “an ecosystem in which skateboarders, parents, children, hula-hoopers, domino players, DJs, drinkers and addicts all intermingle”. His book is a microcosm of urban life through the years of austerity; an heartfelt and unflinching look at the day-to-day challenges, and occasional joys of the square’s regulars. “A lot of crazy stuff goes on in the square,” Ramanan says, “that can’t be easily explained… I was privileged to be allowed into the lives and homes of some of those I have met, to photograph their fights and struggles; their families and their lovers. Some of these people are now my friends and some are no longer with us.”

Dominoes is published by Dewi Lewis (£35)