Byker

These photographs, and the accompanying text, chronicle much more than the tragedy of a single community in one northern English town; they evoke an entire culture. Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen lived in the old Byker area of Newcastle for six years, and photographed it for twelve. 'One way or another I had grown to be part of my street, and the community. It had been my first own home, and a real home for me. As my neighbour Nancy points out proudly: "When she first come into our street, she couldn't tell 'hello' from 'tarra', and now she speaks FINNISH with a Geordie accent."'