Sarah Ainslie Introduces ‘Women At Work’

Today I publish these edited extracts from Sarah Ainslie’s introduction. The book includes Sarah’s extensive commentary throughout. CLICK HERE TO BUY A SIGNED COPY FOR £20 ‘Women at Work, East End Portraits 1992–2025 brings together the many working women I have encountered and photographed since coming to the East End of London. My fascination with photography began whilst studying at Derby Art College in the late 1960s. It was a male-dominated course with only three of us young women, sharing a darkroom. For us, this was a time not only for exploring alternative ways of photography but also for seeking different approaches to telling our stories. I came to London in the late 1970s, and I remember walking through the streets of the East End and finding myself beside the Thames at Wapping. I fell in love with the area and moved into a studio that was part of a working warehouse at New Crane Wharf. I lived and worked there for seven years alongside an eclectic group of around seventy…