superb work. i teach in lambeth - you've captured the odd nihilism/materialism/romanticised gangsterism that a lot of the kids are caught up in perfectly. i've seen a few very bright kids full of potential disappear to feltham recently. they remain blissfully unaware of the cultural imperialism at work. if you've never read Thomas Hobbes (some old political philiosopher) check it out - ihis 'state of man' stuff' explains the knife situation perfectly. get back to me when you come up with a solution to it all! good luck! :)

U R A SERIOUS GUY

Wagwaan....i researched on you way back in november/december... im doin gsce photography and checkin your work out, man you are tha guy ima based ma work on trus. i love what you doin, not doin tha fancy fancy buh tha actual truth about our youth society around us. your safe man

smell the chicken they eating, and the smoke they blazin. These portlaits are so dark yet so real. Enough respect for you challenging the project like this. Peace, and keep the good work.

Situation dramatique aux conséquences irréversibles, la compétition, la performance à l'école, la jet-set, les sportifs, les chanteurs et les acteurs... La vie de rêve comme Montana, mais le nez dans la coke, le nez dans la rue. Simon, le travail commence, garde la pêche... Il y a chez toi quelque chose de Lewis Hine. Je ne sais pas si tu considère ce photographe comme un élément incontournable de la photographie de ce siècle mais je trouve que le sujet, les cadrages (moins posés chez toi tout de même) et le style documentaire te convient bien. les jeunes sont durs et vivent dans un monde virtuel. Ils se regarderont dans la glace, en photo, dans 10 ans, 20 ans peut être... Avec ce goût sans sucre... Et toi Simon tu seras le témoin de ces années étranges... à bientôt je le souhaite... Ton ami, Sayf, Blois, 10,Feb.2007.

I truly appreciate the amount of dedication you put into this project. Your presentation is very real, very deep, very intimate, and at times (very satisfyingly) "grimey." I truly commend you on your years of dedication to foster this intimacy as it led to some extremely personal, beautifully composed photographs. I'm a new photographer and I tried to capture the experience of the homeless residents of Berkeley, California for a class project but failed in attaining the pictures I wanted; I found that the level of trust needed to give rise to merely the opportunity to capture them in their more vulnerable moments was far more than I could attain in an hour of even deep conversation. Your subjects are living very real lives influenced by romanticized concepts of thug/hip-hop lifestyles, yet... most of them are still kids. I really enjoy how you juxtapose the themes of deviance and innocence/vulnerabilty both within a shot and within the sequencing of your essay (my favorite application of these themes within a shot is of the two boys stealing the motorbike; and the lighting is stunningly cinematic). All the best to you in keeping up the inspirational work. Thank you.