Description:‘I’ve been here three and a half years. I was the first one-bedroomed flat to have a rewire. The kitchen’s fantastic. I moved to Birmingham because I have friends here, I feel very safe because we’ve got a big police station next door. But it can be quite bleak, especially with all the demolition work. All the hoardings can be intimidating and no one is around at night. The area has a lot going for it though. It’s as close to the city as you’re going to get. Five minutes to work, five minutes to town. It’s really convenient. You don’t need a car living here – I think I’ve forgotten how to drive!
It’s a comfortable place to stay for the moment. As close to the city as you’re going to get for half the rent some of my friends pay. Five minutes into town, I don’t even bother with a taxi back from Hurst Street, or even from Broad Street.
I’m just here for now. There will be a time to move on – I don’t really have roots. I have an “urban family” that I’ve built around me, people I can be open with, have a connection with, people who are comfortable with themselves. I have more connections with my friends than with any of my family.
The people I go out with are comfortable with themselves, that’s the common thread that runs through us. I was raised with a Catholic belief and taught to deal with original sin which was really demoralising. At 12 or 13 I thought, “this isn’t for me.” I’ve made my own choices and decisions. I think I’m quite a chilled person. I’ve made mistakes and tried to learn something from them. The glass is always half full, if you wish.
I really enjoy painting, this is all my stuff around. It’s individuality. Painting is an expression, you get to play with colour. I don’t fear anything, if everything went wrong I’ll fall back on my feet.’
As the project progressed, we became more and more interested in the interiors of the flat – the differing use of spaces which are essentially the same and the individual marks put into them by the residents. All the flats we visited were distinctive and unique, but one particular day we knocked on the door of a flat where the entire space was given up to creativity and the flat itself a work of art.