Hill, a studio artist since the age of 23, has lived for around 30 years in close proximity to the South East London estate. Over the past five years she has predominantly worked at the youth centre within the estate offering art lessons, creative workshops and summer programmes to resident children.
In a time when creative subjects are becoming de-prioritised within the education sector and young people are increasingly looking for alternatives to social media for connection, the work Hill does is more important than ever. Alongside this, gentrification is an overwhelming issue facing many boroughs in London, the Aylesbury Estate is unfortunately just one example of a neighbourhood being forcibly taken from its residents.
While completing her first artistic project with the children in 2018, Hill discovered just how inaccurate Aylesbury’s notorious reputation really was. She says: “In the media it was portrayed as being a very negative and hopeless place. Just subconsciously whilst I was working there I thought this doesn’t conform at all with what its reputation is. They’re incredible, the kids. They’re so ambitious and ready to take on the world.”
Over the past few decades, Hill has found fun and inventive ways to bring the children of the estate together. ‘The Home is where the Heart is’ was a thoughtful postcard project that involved the elderly residents communicating with the children about what it is like to live through tough times on the estate. Hill says: ‘We had older Aylesbury residents, who have been there for over 50 years and who were originally rehomed onto the Aylesbury Estate, linked up with young residents who are facing forcible relocation. It was all about resilience and coming to terms with what is actually happening.”
Relocation is a devastating reality facing those living on the estate, with block after block now being demolished as residents watch on. It was from the aftermath of the Chilton Court demolition that Hill discovered her new medium, she says: “I was driving past when I noticed a couple of bits of rubble had come over the barrier. I made two salvage attempts where I did climb over the holdings, then I thought this really isn’t going to be good if I get caught!”
After creating what would be her first piece in a monumental collection, Hill took it back home with her, she says: “I took a bit of the concrete to the studio with no plan at all. Then I just started drawing a picture of the demolished building back on the building. It was sort of an instinctive thing. I brought it home and showed it to my partner, and he went ‘Oh my god! That really makes sense what you’ve done there.’”
Hill has been sharing the realist pieces on her instagram page (@harrietmena_hill) where admiring ex-residents continue to get in touch with her about the work. She says: “Almost all of them have been extremely positive. They’ve understood that I'm not trying to exploit their environment or glamourise it or romanticise it, that what they’re seeing is the place that they knew and a place that has been extremely important in forming who they are.”
Keeping her artistic passion at the very core of everything she does, Hill works to promote the non-traditional life she knows and loves: “I encourage as many young people as I can to go into freelance. I think being hungry and really wanting to do something is important. If you really want to do something you will always find a way.”
Despite her growing artistic reach, Hill has no plans to abandon her Aylesbury work anytime soon, saying: “I've worked with this amazing community for the past five years and will continue for as long as I can work with them and for as long as they’re there.”
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