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| Intimate strangers | Intimate strangers |
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| The project began by talking to "the man in the Panama hat" | The project began by talking to "the man in the Panama hat" |
| By Sean Coughlan BBC News Magazine There are people you see every day but never meet. Urban living is full of these close encounters where we never make contact. A photographer decided to talk to these "intimate strangers", class="inlineText" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/06/in_pictures_talking_to_strangers/html/1.stm">see the photo gallery here. | |
| Ever wondered who that person is you see each day on the way to work? Never spoken to them, but you see them every single morning. | Ever wondered who that person is you see each day on the way to work? Never spoken to them, but you see them every single morning. |
| I WALK TO WORK See Susie Rea's photos here | I WALK TO WORK See Susie Rea's photos here |
| You know what clothes they wear, the paper they read, the way they always stand at the same place on the platform. They also see you there every day. But they're still strangers. | You know what clothes they wear, the paper they read, the way they always stand at the same place on the platform. They also see you there every day. But they're still strangers. |
| These familiar strangers are part of urban living - neighbours you've never spoken to, the bloke who works in the cafe, the woman who sells you a newspaper, the usual suspects on the train. | These familiar strangers are part of urban living - neighbours you've never spoken to, the bloke who works in the cafe, the woman who sells you a newspaper, the usual suspects on the train. |
| Photographer Susie Rea is working on a project examining these odd, displaced relationships - where people are part of the landscape of our daily lives but remain anonymous and out of contact. | Photographer Susie Rea is working on a project examining these odd, displaced relationships - where people are part of the landscape of our daily lives but remain anonymous and out of contact. |
| Cat in the hat | Cat in the hat |
| "It's a weird one - there is an intimacy with someone you recognise, but they are still a total stranger," says the photographer. | "It's a weird one - there is an intimacy with someone you recognise, but they are still a total stranger," says the photographer. |
| And she's even broken the great non-talking taboo by approaching these people to ask them about their lives and to take their photographs. | And she's even broken the great non-talking taboo by approaching these people to ask them about their lives and to take their photographs. |
| People can see the world, but know little of the streets around them | People can see the world, but know little of the streets around them |
| "It struck me as strange that you could go past these people every day and not know who they are," says Ms Rea, who like the people she has photographed, lives in north-west London. | "It struck me as strange that you could go past these people every day and not know who they are," says Ms Rea, who like the people she has photographed, lives in north-west London. |
| "You could see these people more often than some of your own friends - but you don't know anything about them, you don't know their names, whether they've got family or what they do with their lives." | "You could see these people more often than some of your own friends - but you don't know anything about them, you don't know their names, whether they've got family or what they do with their lives." |
| Her starting point was seeing a man in a Panama hat each day. He was always wearing it and it intrigued her to think about who he might be - conjecturing that he must be "a writer or a teacher, someone who could get away with wearing that hat". | Her starting point was seeing a man in a Panama hat each day. He was always wearing it and it intrigued her to think about who he might be - conjecturing that he must be "a writer or a teacher, someone who could get away with wearing that hat". |
| But approaching him was difficult. "It takes quite a lot to meet someone you recognise but have never spoken to... it's a very weird experience," she says. | But approaching him was difficult. "It takes quite a lot to meet someone you recognise but have never spoken to... it's a very weird experience," she says. |
| No man's land | No man's land |
| After failing to take the plunge a couple of times, eventually she spoke to the man in the Panama hat. He turned out to be a jeweller - and when she saw him each day he was walking to the synagogue where he was training to be a rabbi. | After failing to take the plunge a couple of times, eventually she spoke to the man in the Panama hat. He turned out to be a jeweller - and when she saw him each day he was walking to the synagogue where he was training to be a rabbi. |
| Urban living can be about ignoring the people sitting nearest | Urban living can be about ignoring the people sitting nearest |
| From this starting point, she began to approach others who are daily fixtures on her way to work - people who worked in shops she used, neighbours who stood at the gate, passers-by whose lives briefly overlapped with her own. | From this starting point, she began to approach others who are daily fixtures on her way to work - people who worked in shops she used, neighbours who stood at the gate, passers-by whose lives briefly overlapped with her own. |
| Her photos began to map out this community of strangers - people from Barbados, India, Iran, Ireland and Australia. There was even someone there from London. And the guys who ran the chip shop turned out to be from Macedonia and Kurdistan. | Her photos began to map out this community of strangers - people from Barbados, India, Iran, Ireland and Australia. There was even someone there from London. And the guys who ran the chip shop turned out to be from Macedonia and Kurdistan. |
| And from only knowing them as the "older gentleman from number 220" or "the man in the shop that sells everything", the photographer began to flesh out their characters, learning something about their background and beliefs. | And from only knowing them as the "older gentleman from number 220" or "the man in the shop that sells everything", the photographer began to flesh out their characters, learning something about their background and beliefs. |
| But urban life is full of contradictions and can still bite you when you least expect it. Because even though Susie Rea had made a new circle of friends out of these familiar faces, when she was locked out of her house, her own neighbours wouldn't help. "It's a strange beast," she says. | But urban life is full of contradictions and can still bite you when you least expect it. Because even though Susie Rea had made a new circle of friends out of these familiar faces, when she was locked out of her house, her own neighbours wouldn't help. "It's a strange beast," she says. |
| Screen community | Screen community |
| Her project also highlights how little we know about what goes on outside our own front door. A community is now a non-geographical concept. Friends and family are scattered widely - with contacts kept by mobile phone and e-mail. And the real-life neighbourhood becomes an unknown zone. | Her project also highlights how little we know about what goes on outside our own front door. A community is now a non-geographical concept. Friends and family are scattered widely - with contacts kept by mobile phone and e-mail. And the real-life neighbourhood becomes an unknown zone. |
| Commuters occupy the same space while staying strangers | Commuters occupy the same space while staying strangers |
| We can look at the television or the internet to find out about what's happening thousands of miles away, day and night. But the streets outside? It can be a blindspot, a no-man's land which we navigate but never really know. | We can look at the television or the internet to find out about what's happening thousands of miles away, day and night. But the streets outside? It can be a blindspot, a no-man's land which we navigate but never really know. |
| And the more often you see people you recognise but never talk to, the more difficult it becomes to cross that boundary. | And the more often you see people you recognise but never talk to, the more difficult it becomes to cross that boundary. |
| The next stage of Susie Rea's "I walk to work" project is to carry out deeper research into the lives of the people she meets, capturing more information about these familiar faces who share the same streets. | The next stage of Susie Rea's "I walk to work" project is to carry out deeper research into the lives of the people she meets, capturing more information about these familiar faces who share the same streets. |
| Looking around a group of commuters, plugged into their iPods and sealed into their own thoughts, it might go against the grain to try to reach out. But this is what the photographer wants to explore. | Looking around a group of commuters, plugged into their iPods and sealed into their own thoughts, it might go against the grain to try to reach out. But this is what the photographer wants to explore. |
| "It's the things that are around us that are really fascinating... I like dealing with what's under my nose," she says. "It's about extending your hand." | "It's the things that are around us that are really fascinating... I like dealing with what's under my nose," she says. "It's about extending your hand." |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| I commuted from Bath to Swindon once as a trainee teacher and began talking to a woman who also commuted on that route. It turned out she was also a teacher. We talked every morning on the train. After three months, my training was over. On our last journey together we finally exchanged our names.Suzanne, Edinburgh | I commuted from Bath to Swindon once as a trainee teacher and began talking to a woman who also commuted on that route. It turned out she was also a teacher. We talked every morning on the train. After three months, my training was over. On our last journey together we finally exchanged our names.Suzanne, Edinburgh |
| This is so true, I thought I was the only one who gave nicknames to people I used to see every day. I used to walk past this one man every morning for two years nicknaming him "the Australian" now I wish I had spoken to him and found out if he really was from Australia!E. Long, Ipswich | |
| What a great idea. The same applies to your neighbour next door. You always see the same person all the time, everyday but never really know who they they are, what they do and who they stay with. Knowing the person you always cross your paths with can help make this world a safer and more secure place.Wilfred Osumo, Lucern, Switzerland | What a great idea. The same applies to your neighbour next door. You always see the same person all the time, everyday but never really know who they they are, what they do and who they stay with. Knowing the person you always cross your paths with can help make this world a safer and more secure place.Wilfred Osumo, Lucern, Switzerland |
| Loved this article and the pictures - ordinary normal people doing everyday stuff - but with a story to tell - this is going on all around us everyday - we should make more contact with each other.E. Taylor, Isle of Man | Loved this article and the pictures - ordinary normal people doing everyday stuff - but with a story to tell - this is going on all around us everyday - we should make more contact with each other.E. Taylor, Isle of Man |