Nicola Muirhead

In Brutal Presence

"In Brutal Presence" is an intimate dialogue with the council residents of Trellick Tower, a brutalist housing estate located in the heart of Notting Hill. Using interviews and portraiture to narrate the story, it attempts to highlight the many contradictory realities which exist within this high-rise through the thoughts and reflections of its council tenants. After becoming a Grade II* listed building in the 1990’s for its' unique architecture - in combination with a series of fortunate trends in pop culture - Trellick Tower has been absorbed into the affluent fabric of London's richest borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It has been counted as one of London’s most iconic buildings, and yet, remains 80% council flat tenants. This ongoing body of work will look further into the disappearance of council estates and the decline of social housing in London through the evolving symbolism of Trellick Tower; a building that has inadvertently become a last stance against the waves of some of the negative aspects of gentrification that carelessly occur when these tower blocks become desirable properties to own and redevelop in London.