FEATURE
There are over 20,000 squatters living in London.
Emma Keyne goes to meet some of them.
I
’m standing in Lambeth outside creatives, artisans and ‘people who are
one of London’s estimated 83,000 very good at building things.’ In the
disused buildings, a former two weeks that they’ve been occupying
language school which has been empty the six storey building on Westminster
since 2007. I’ve come to investigate a Bridge Road, they’ve ‘taken up manky
group of squatters called The Oubliette carpets, painted floors, cleaned up fungus
Arthouse and I have no idea what covered walls, fixed a leak in the roof and
to expect. unblocked sewers.’ The group has already
Today there are up to 20,000 squatters won its first court battle against the
in London. They have formed an elusive proprietors and if they don’t get evicted,
subculture and often get a bad rap in the they plan to open the building to the
press. My first experience with squatters public as a gallery, cafe, cinema and live
corroborated all the tabloid rumours – music venue. “We want to demonstrate
they broke into my house a week before I what can be done with a redundant
was due to move in and promptly trashed space in a short period with limited
it. So I’m feeling a bit apprehensive. financial resources,” says Dan.
I’m just about to knock when suddenly Dan is 31 and has been squatting in
the door opens and out steps a trendily London for 9 years, ever since having
dressed, clean cut twentysomething an epiphany in a coffee shop. “I was 22
with a BlackBerry in his hand and a and in a well paid IT job with a nice flat
decent looking camera hanging round and a girlfriend with a double-barrelled
his neck. Presuming he’s a photographer surname. I was in a cafe one day and
from another publication, I ask him if looked out of the window and saw some
he knows anything about the squatters. rickshaw riders. I suddenly thought,
In a cut glass accent he replies, “yeah is this what I want to do this for the
I’m one of them.” He introduces himself rest of my life? What does it mean to
as Ed Aves. He’s 24 and a photographer be free? I quit my job, started rickshaw
(a rather good one it turns out – he took
all the images for this article.) I tell him This former language school is
I’m from Addison Lee’s in car magazine
now home to The Oubliette
Arthouse squatters
and he exclaims, “I get Add Lee cars
everywhere for work!” This isn’t the type
of squatter I’ve read about in the papers.
We go inside and into a dusty
lobby littered with detritus, where Ed
introduces me to Oubliette’s founder Dan
Simon. He’s friendly, well spoken and
clearly intelligent. He tells me that the
collective are a group of fourteen artists,
squatter 4 pager.indd 3 16/7/09 16:44:41
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