“Bumps are synonymous with youth,” say Lola & Pani when asked about the title of their new book, the dustjacket of which is illustrated by an image of a smashed iPhone screen. “It was initially a placeholder, but it spoke on so many different levels so we ended up sticking with it.” The title is a nod to Hackney Bumps, the DIY skatepark in the heart of east London, where the photographer duo would sit on the warm concrete with friends, take pictures and watch the sky turn candy colours.
Yet, flicking through the book’s French folds, one also finds a much wider community beyond the lunar landscape. Compiling the faces and places Lola & Pani have encountered over the past few years – in Australia, Poland, Serbia and the US – Bumps offers a fresh and contemporary perspective on youth, nature and memory. These are photographs in which moments – and lives – are never flattened or fixed. They are constantly moving from then to now, kids finding echoes in the world around them.
As they launch Bumps into the world with a photo book (published by Palm* Studios)and accompanying exhibition (at 10 14 Gallery in Hackney) we speak to the Londoners about their backstories and nostalgic practices.
Congratulations on your beautiful new book! Can you tell me about the pairing of adolescence and nature throughout?
Lola: Thank you! The sequencing was a way of exploring the themes of youth, renewal and finding one’s place in the world. Of course, landscapes are such an intrinsic part of growing up too. They’re the places we meet our friends and hang out… A park, beach or bus shelter. It’s easy to look at these faces and join the dots to find some generational traits, but that’s not what we’re trying to do. It’s also not for us to be the voice for this generation. We wanted to celebrate youth in a broader sense, rather than representing a current trend or moment.
Pani: Exactly that. We’re more interested in finding common ground than portraying differences. We’ve all gone through that period of discovery and having to navigate yourself in a new world with uncertainty. In a sense, this book is as much a reflection on our own our youth as it is theirs.
Would you say personal practice is nostalgic?
Lola: I’d definitely say so. We’re often drawn to people who remind us of our younger selves or our friends growing up. There are so many experiences crammed into adolescence, so many energies to photograph. We wanted the book to feel like an explosion of memories.
What drew you both to London?
Pani: I came to London following my friends from back home who’d moved over already. I knew I wanted to get into photography in some capacity and I conveniently had a European passport, so that made half the decision for me. My first memories were hanging around Brick Lane and London Fields. I was immediately struck by all the different cultures and styles. It was so eye-opening coming from pre-internet, small-town Australia.
Lola: Moving over from Koszalin, Poland, in the early 2000s, I was working in bars and restaurants at first, but then found myself working in a tattoo studio, first as a piercer and then as a manager. It was around the same time that I started taking pictures, though I was not taking it seriously until around 2015 when I worked on my first major project that became a book about Belgrade’s estates and their residents.
You’ve since worked with brands including Homme Plissé Issey Miyake. How did you get into fashion and commercial photography?
Lola: I was working with a tattoo artist who started getting commissions for artwork within the fashion and commercial world. I knew nothing about the industry at the time but found myself enjoying the production side of it. I wasn’t expecting it to become my job if I’m honest. When I met Pani, we started putting some of our images together and shortly after began shooting together.
Pani: I was pretty motivated to get on set so basically cold-called every artist agency and production company in London. One night, I got a call from a producer telling me an assistant broke their leg and they needed a replacement for the next day. It started from there. It’s a huge privilege to be able to make a living from photography in London. Combining art and commerce naturally has its ups and downs but we’re super grateful for all the opportunities we’ve been given.
Lola, what were your motivations behind founding your publishing house Palm* Studios?
Lola: I wanted a platform, a kind of umbrella for publishing, curation, exhibitions and the pop-up events I was working on. I didn’t feel like I had a community and that was my attempt at creating one. After I published the first few books, people started approaching me with their projects. It’s the collaborative process that I love. While I tend to only work on one book a year now, I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best projects are those which develop over time.
Bumps by Lola & Pani is published by Palm* Studios and is out now.
To celebrate the publication of Bumps, photographs from the series will be exhibited at 10 14 Gallery, London, from May 10 until June 14, 2024.
