Tender Portraits of Central and Jap European Youth within the UK

Framed by two items of drying laundry, a younger girl carrying a cap squats on a rooftop, staring defiantly by means of the body. Her hoodie reads ‘I ♥ London’ however her eyes appear to problem this sentiment. That is how Johana Kasalicka opens her documentary sequence, My Favourite Slavs in London, exploring Central and Jap European youth tradition within the UK. “It’s sort of ironic that she has this sweatshirt on,” says Kasalicka. She explains that, on the time of capturing, her pal within the {photograph} had shared her need to maneuver away from London on account of her emotions of disappointment after Brexit, and a way that her alternatives right here have been extra restricted than anticipated. 

That is Kasalicka’s first foray into documentary images. Taking a delicate and intimate look into her pal’s lives, she additionally brings parts of her vogue images background into the work and course of. “The mission began as an exploration of my Central Jap European id. Again house within the Czech Republic, I by no means considered myself as an Jap European – I’d somewhat take into consideration myself as European or Czech. After I moved to London 4 years in the past I found that I’m labeled as Jap European, which has sure detrimental connotations and stereotypes,” Kasalicka explains.

Whereas Kasalicka had an inkling that Central and Jap Europeans within the UK face prejudice, it was solely when she started researching the subject and interviewing her associates that she realised how frequent these experiences are. “[Central and Eastern Europeans in the UK] are sometimes seen as low cost labour. They usually don’t have equal work alternatives and their {qualifications} from their house international locations aren’t actually recognised right here,” she explains. “Jap European international locations additionally don’t have as a lot cultural capital. So let’s say, within the Czech Republic, we’re well-known for reasonable beer and hockey and soccer, compared to international locations like France or Italy which can be as an alternative well-known for his or her excessive tradition. I feel that may additionally replicate how Jap Europeans are perceived.”

As a substitute of specializing in the obstacles and the – at time express – xenophobia that her associates have confronted within the UK, Kasalicka needed to create a optimistic illustration of her group. All through the sequence of pictures, the hidden symbolism and markers of Jap European tradition could not instantly soar out to everybody, however this doesn’t hassle Kasalicka an excessive amount of. She explains that her purpose was to achieve others in her group by means of delicate imagery: “[It’s these] little issues that make you’re feeling like, ‘Oh that is acquainted, that is one thing that I do know,’ and possibly it makes you’re feeling such as you belong a bit bit extra.”

Weaved all through the pictures, jars of pickled cucumbers, colourfully dyed eggs and neatly lined up collections of pebbles function a background to friendships made within the absence of household and residential. “Transferring to a distinct nation sort of forces you to create this new household of associates that really present the perform of a household. That’s one thing I needed to seize, I needed to seize the connections,” says Kasalicka.

The picture of a finger mentioning the Czech Republic on a small plastic globe will really feel immediately acquainted for a lot of Jap Europeans within the UK, who’re so usually eager for their various international locations and experiences to be recognized, recognised, and understood. For Kasalicka, it was necessary to have fun Central and Jap European heritage, whereas acknowledging the variety of the totally different international locations within the area, with their totally different histories, languages and complicated identities. Most of all, Kasalicka needed to point out her friends that “[they] aren’t alone, and that they’ll discuss [their similar experiences] with one another and help one another.”