Sunčan Patrick Stone: Grenfell Tower Silent Walks

Sunčan Stone has gained renown as an accomplished photographer, known for his photographic studies of movement – dance, dancers and dance shows –, as well as for his vibrant images of music and theatre performances. After a three-year stay in his native England, Stone is presenting a new project – Grenfell Tower Silent Walks – in CD’s Small Gallery. These are silent walks taken with a view to admonishing the authorities and paying respect to the memory of all the people who died when this tower caught fire (14 June 2017). The artist shares his thoughts on the series:

“A 24-storey tower block in Northington caught fire on 14 June 2017 – 72 people were killed in the fire. ... A month later, on 14 June 2017, survivors and relatives of the deceased took part in the Grenfell Tower Silent Walk, a memorial procession winding its way through the neighbourhood in honour of the victims. The marchers were joined by firefighters who fought for the victims that night, people from the neighbourhood and random passers-by. Silent walks have been held in the neighbourhood on the 14th of every month since the fire, attracting hundreds of people – as a reminder to the authorities to identify the culprits and introduce changes as early as possible. I joined in the third march with my camera, accompanying and supporting the marchers throughout my stay in London (until October 2019). The exhibition constitutes a series of portraits of people whose lives have changed irrevocably in a matter of a few hours. Here, my definition of a portrait is somewhat loose, given that all the photographs were taken during the walk, so I first focused on one person, and then on two people or a small group. Other times I just did a group portrait. The photographs depict a person in a deep emotional state, whilst reflecting a strong sense of human dignity, capturing a moment when the circumstances and memories weigh one down, while at the same time clearly reflecting this person’s upright posture, their feelings of empathy and solidarity – as we have repeatedly taken part in the march to remember the deceased, to support the survivors and make sure that this never happens again.”

Born in London, UK, in 1971, Sunčan Patrick Stone has adopted Ljubljana as his new home. He took up translating (mostly into English) during his studies (sociology of culture and art history at Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts) and has so far translated a large series of books (from scientific publications to poetry, children's books, novels and what have you), as well as specialist articles. A professional photographer since 2009, Stone is particularly interested in the ways in which people express their creative side. He therefore almost exclusively focuses on dance (especially contemporary), theatre (especially independent), as well as concerts and art exhibitions. Believing that photography can help raise people's awareness of current social movements, Sunčan always takes his camera with him to demonstrations. He has held more than 20 solo photography exhibitions (Belgium, Slovenia and the UK, almost half of which were dedicated to contemporary dance) and took part in more than 25 group showcases (Australia, Austria, Slovenia and Serbia), as well as in various art projects presented in Croatia, Italy, South Korea, Macedonia and the United Kingdom. He teaches various photography workshops covering a range of subjects – from introduction to digital photography to dance photography and theatre photography.