Brick Lane was the focus of Paul Trevor in his photos capturing a historic slice of life

A photographic exhibition capturing kids in a derelict East End neighbourhood is currently showing in Homerton Hospital.

The photos in the exhibition, Childhood, were taken during the 70s, 80s and 90s by Paul Trevor in his Brick Lane neighbourhood.

“Much of it was derelict, it felt abandoned,” he said.

“Yet from this unlikely location, I was gifted a vivid story of a community surviving considerable hardship with resilience, humour and hope – none more so than the kids.”

Taken from Paul Trevor’s Eastender Archive - containing over 120,000 negatives – the exhibition represents a vivid slice of social history and offers an in-depth portrait of the social, economic and cultural life of the multi-ethnic community.

Paul’s approach was simple - he carried a camera at all times and snapped away wherever he happened to be.

“The fact that photography can capture the past has appealed to me ever since I set

eyes on my father’s photo albums as a young boy, I was enthralled,” he said.

“Maybe it was this early experience that inspired my thinking many years later when I picked up the camera. “Here was a time machine,” I said to myself - capable of capturing not just the fleeting moment but also much larger chunks of human and social time. Why not try to do both?”

Previously on show at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, the exhibition runs until June 30 at Homerton Hospital in Homerton Row.

Viewing is by appointment, call Shaun Caton on 020 8510 5555 or email shaun.caton@homerton.nhs.uk