These images are drawn from across London, but overwhelmingly from the streets in and around Shoreditch, a neighbourhood that refuses to sit still. Here, every surface is a palimpsest. Layers of old brick rub up against fresh paint, café windows mirror bus headlights, and the city seems to hum with the residue of everything that has ever happened here. Shoreditch is London’s perpetual experiment—raw, playful, restless—and walking its streets feels like being inside a living moodboard.
This is a place where creativity leaks out of doorways. Where the graffiti feels as carefully considered as anything hanging in a gallery. Where the light—muted, unhurried, stretched by cloud—gives faces and buildings a softness London rarely gets credit for.
But what struck me most, as I made these images, was the sense of return. This trip wasn’t just about being back in London. It was about being back in motion—after years defined by hospitals, limitations, and the long climb back into the world. To wander London with a camera again felt like meeting an old friend and discovering they’ve changed, but so have you… and somehow that makes the conversation richer.
Next stop: Wales!
:: Rand
All images and text are copyright Rand Leeb-du Toit, 2025.
That palimpsest framing is perfect for Shoreditch, but what really hits is framing the return to shooting as meeting an old freind after both of you have changed. After a long recovery period, reclaiming creative practice isn't just picking up where you left off, its discovering what the work means now. Congrats on making it back out there.