The world of London squats and their inhabitants in the photo project of Corinna Kern

German photographer Corinna Kern explores London's squats and the lifestyle of their inhabitants. Kern clearly shows how spaces that many consider homeless shelters can turn out to be real homes. Kern's characters deliberately choose this path, preferring warehouses, abandoned factories and design studios to traditional apartments.

"Home" can mean many different things. This idea intrigued photographer Corinna Kern, who once found herself living in a squatted commercial building for several months. “Squatting” is the process of a person or group of people moving into an abandoned building without permission. Kern decided to document the unusual way of life that she was able to observe. She first visited the squat out of personal interest in April 2013 while studying in London.

Previously, this five-story building housed offices, but now more than 100 people live here. The squat is famous in London for the parties its residents throw.

Corinne Kern's interest has resulted in a striking collection of photographs, A Place Called Home, where she attempts to challenge common preconceptions about squatters and explore the idea that home is a feeling rather than a physical place. Then, in 2013, having moved into a squat in north London, Kern had to figure out how to coexist in one building with 30 people and three dogs: she found herself part of a wider alternative community that was both transient and close-knit.

Through contacts, she visited six other squats in north and south London. One was in a former fabric warehouse, another in an abandoned garden center, and the third in a former design studio.

With the high cost of housing in London and the scarcity of affordable options, squatting may seem like an attractive option to some people, although, as Kern points out, it is not a lifestyle chosen simply because of homelessness or poverty.

Kern noted that she did not encounter resistance when she ventured into people’s intimate spaces; on the contrary, the girl made many friends. This was partly because she gained the people's trust by living among them, but also because her project aimed to celebrate the positive aspects of their lifestyle rather than reinforcing negative stereotypes of squatters as spendthrifts and evaders. taxes, beggars.

The Fabric Storehouse squat used to house a cloth warehouse.

Hundreds of rolls of fabric serve the squat's inhabitants as a bed, pillow, curtains, and screens to divide the space and erect temporary tents.

A room in The Fabric Storehouse squat during the relocation of its tenant.

The abandoned greenhouse at The Garden Center still contains artifacts that can trace its past. There was once a forest nursery here.

The couple is renovating the space in the Downtown Restaurant squat, which used to be a cabaret.

A Downtown Restaurant resident just took a shower on the rooftop overlooking the Thames. By shower, locals mean a bucket of water.

In the Blackfriars squat there is not only no running water, but also no electricity.

Compared to other squats, Kentish Town can be considered a new building. Until recently, a large design studio was located here.

Kentish Town Squat residents are keeping things cozy with fabrics from the Fabric Storehouse squat.