Freya Najade: The Hackney Marshes
“I assumed I lived in a totalitarian city. London’s green spaces were prescribed by municipal entities, landscaped by committees, furnished with bollards and swings. There was no wilderness. There was no escape. You couldn’t simply decide to wander off-plan. Or so I thought. (…) Discovering this place was like opening my back door to find a volcanic crater in the garden, blasting my face with lava heat, tipping reality topsy-turvy.” (from Marshland by Gareth E. Rees)
The Hackney Marshes took me by surprise. When reaching its shores, the noise and hustle of one of London's 'trendiest' neighbourhoods ended abruptly, giving way to swathes of green; sprawling, sea-like fields nestled amid the concrete landscapes of the capital. Sudden feelings of peace and freedom engulfed me as it only happens when I am by the coast, but never when walking through London’s manicured parks.
The River Lea borders the vastness of Hackney Marshes, outlining its green expanse. From here, it snakes through neighbouring Leyton and Walthamstow Marshes, an undulating thread linking the three almost dutifully together. Falcons, parakeets, kingfishers and other wildlife inhabit these enclaves of greenery. And so too do humans: their presence marked by rubbish peppering the fields, floating down the River Lea; a river so polluted, signs warn people from swimming in it.
Perhaps it was this juxtaposition that compelled me: despite the neglect and damage, on the Marshes nature’s beauty always seems to shine through. Or maybe it was their sheer size and the sense of freedom this engendered, which kept me hooked. Nonetheless, I couldn’t stop photographing them. I combed the marshes in all seasons and all weathers, finding unexpected beauty and having surprising encounters with strangers -especially with the youth, which in the wake of the pandemic flooded the park, seeking refuge in its greenery too.
These photographs are an ode to this little part of the world and to my favourite part of the city, the Hackney Marshes, a jewel amid a metropolis.
— Freya Najade
