A community group worked with Pinhole London to identify historic images of Enfield Island Village through archival research

A photography group has launched a unique exhibition of images celebrating the history and heritage of Enfield Island Village.

Bounded by rivers and canals, including the Lee Navigation, the island was famously the home of the Royal Small Arms Factory that helped equip troops in two worlds wars but, since closing at the end of the last century, has been transformed into a residential ‘village’.

To celebrate the heritage of an area facing significant environmental and economic challenges, senior young leaders from the Enact community group worked with Pinhole London to identify historic images of the canal through local archival research at Enfield Local Studies Library and Archive.

Across a number of sessions and through the medium of pinhole photography, participants identified the original location of historic images, created their own personalised interpretation featuring themselves, and developed their photos at a temporary darkroom installed at Enact’s community centre.

This photographic ‘time travel’ honours the Lee Navigation’s rich heritage and aims to maintain it by inspiring a future generation of local leaders to recreate the images once again next century.

An exhibition is now running at Dugdale Arts Centre until January and is free to view during the centre’s opening hours between 9.30am and 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

For more information:
Visit pinholelondon.org/online-exhibitions/enfields-forgotten-island

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