21
Caf é Stalk At the heart of the Leeds retail scene since 1857, Leeds Kirkgate Market is home to some of the most characterful traders in the city, with businesses spanning generations and representing wide range cafeterias. This project is aim to show and reflect on the population and its community across the North of England Due to the dominance of the high street in recent years the local café has had to endure a dwindling consumer base. Now what remains is a small, tight knit, community-like group who will often converse over a cup of tea and other traditionally British breakfast items. As well as the personalities of the customers that are injected into these places each café has its own uniqueness that cannot be replicated but can be captured quite vividly in a photograph. Teahouses, cafes and bar all fall into the same categories. They are ideal and simple environments to get human interaction and social gathering. Across Leeds City, we’re surrounded by thousands cafeterias, for everybody’s likes. This project is aim to show and reflect on the population and its community across the North of England Due to the dominance of the high street in recent years the local café has had to endure a dwindling consumer base. Now what remains is a small, tight knit, community-like group who will often converse over a cup of tea and other traditionally British breakfast items. As well as the personalities of the customers that are injected into these places each café has its own uniqueness that cannot be replicated but can be captured quite vividly in a photograph. The cafeterias are places to bring people together and the younger generation are the greatest example to prove that point. The high street coffee shops serve and gather hundreds of teens per day, allowing them to bond together, explore their thoughts and meet the rest of the society at their comfort zone. However from the observations collected the elderly generation are more isolated from the rest of the community. The elderly society appears to be seen more in the less local cafeterias and are usually seen solo, which argues with the ideal thoughts about the cafeterias being a place for the northerners to gather together. Throughout the serious of the images taken and this photographic journey, we are allowed to witness the difference between the centres of population from the same area, such as the North where the contrast between socialising between teens can have an effect on why the elderly rather is isolated from the rest of the society. We are surrounded and familiar with these thoughts and isolation between the societies, however this project can be seen in a different spotlight. By looking at the images, we can interpret the story and give it a different context. Based on the different growing up times and environment, even though, the North of England has not changed the traditions might of been different to what they are like now and how the
