Revisiting London’s East End During the ’70s and ’80s

Photographer Bandele ‘Tex’ Ajetunmobi spent five decades crafting an intimate portrait of the East End as seen through the eyes of a consummate insider.

In 1947, self-taught photographer Bandele ‘Tex’ Ajetunmobi (1921–1994) stowed away on a boat bound from Nigeria to Britain. After a post-polio disability rendered him estranged from his own community we was determined to build a new life for himself.

Ajetunmobi settled into East London amid a broad swath of émigrés from all across the Global South. Over the next five decades, he chronicled the world in which he lived, crafting an intimate portrait of the East End as seen through the perspective of a consummate insider.

Operating a market stall in Brick Lane placed Ajetunmobi at the nexus of street culture as it took root during the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, providing him with an unparalleled vantage point. Ajetunmobi’s work reveals a profound sense of solidarity among the working class, forged through the shared struggles and celebrations that are the marker of community.

“The postwar migratory story of Britain is often seen through the lens of conflicts, riots, and racists attacks, but a lot of the story is the everyday encounters where people work together and the relationships they have,” says Dr. Mark Sealy OBE, Executive Director of Autograph, who has curated the new online exhibition, Bandele ‘Tex’ Ajetunmobi: Street Scenes from the East End, 1950 – 1980.

“This is a time when things happening on the peripheral become the matrix of London,” Sealy says. “The working class are the frontline of diversity; the poor live side by side and have to get along. The undercurrent of Tex’s work is a city in transition.”

As chronicler of modern life, Ajetunmobi readily photographed friends and acquaintances he happened upon on the streets, pubs, and homes dotting Whitechapel, Stepney and Mile End, crafting a layered tapestry of East London life.

“There is a difference between someone arriving in a community and wanting to document it, and someone being in the community who happens to have an enthusiasm for the camera, and what it can do. The landscape is not something you go and discover, it's something that you're in. There’s a degree of intimacy that begins to reveal in image after image after image,” says Sealy.

“In many ways, this is a visual diary. I wouldn't say it's a documentary; it's more about this is what I'm seeing, and this is who we are. Sometimes people have an intuitive sense, like a musician, to build a rhythm of what's actually going on and it's not for profit or any kind of cultural gain. It's simply to speak to that place.”

Following Ajetunmobi’s death in 1994, most of his work was destroyed, save for some 200 negatives and camera equipment now in the collection of Autograph.

“I think the story of photography is not necessarily the story of the heroes that we know about,” Sealy says. “The story of photography is all of those people like texts, all of those cameras, all of those moments are those boxes under the bed, or those castaway images.”

Bandele ‘Tex’ Ajetunmobi: Street Scenes from the East End, 1950 – 1980 is on view online at Autograph in London.

Enjoyed this article? Follow Huck on X and Instagram.

Support stories like this by becoming a member of Club Huck.

Latest on Huck

Crowd of silhouetted people at a nighttime event with colourful lighting and a bright spotlight on stage.
Music

Clubbing is good for your health, according to neuroscientists

We Become One — A new documentary explores the positive effects that dance music and shared musical experiences can have on the human brain.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Indoor skate park with ramps, riders, and abstract architectural elements in blue, white, and black tones.
Sport

In England’s rural north, skateboarding is femme

Zine scene — A new project from visual artist Juliet Klottrup, ‘Skate Like a Lass’, spotlights the FLINTA+ collectives who are redefining what it means to be a skater.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Black-and-white image of two men in suits, with the text "EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER" in large bright yellow letters overlaying the image.
Culture

Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?

Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.

Written by: Emma Garland

A group of people, likely children, sitting around a table surrounded by various comic books, magazines, and plates of food.
© Michael Jang
Culture

How the ’70s radicalised the landscape of photography

The ’70s Lens — Half a century ago, visionary photographers including Nan Goldin, Joel Meyerowitz and Larry Sultan pushed the envelope of what was possible in image-making, blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A new exhibition revisits the era.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Silhouette of person on horseback against orange sunset sky, with electricity pylon in foreground.
Culture

The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth

Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Couple sitting on ground in book-filled environment
Culture

The British intimacy of ‘the afters’

Not Going Home — In 1998, photographer Mischa Haller travelled to nightclubs just as their doors were shutting and dancers streamed out onto the streets, capturing the country’s partying youth in the early morning haze.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to stay informed from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, with personal takes on the state of media and pop culture in your inbox every month from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.