Dalston was home to an alternative ragtag of “squatters, partiers, punks and New Age travellers”, when illustrator Jane Smith first relocated to the bohemian neighbourhood in the late 80s. Famed for its burgeoning community of offbeat creatives, Hackney reportedly “…once had a reputation for having more artists per square inch than anywhere else in Europe.”
It was Smith’s distinct “fascination” with this eclectic mix of people which attracted her to the borough in the first place. Originally from the “isolated” countryside, Smith’s decision to settle within the frenzied buzz of Dalston was almost an impulsive “reaction” to her secluded childhood. Even before she lived in Hackney, she came to East London to do drawings of the Hackney Empire. Thirty years ago, the borough was “more rundown”, but Smith quite liked the “idiosyncratic glamour of how it used to be – it was clear that Hackney had a lot going for it”.
Starting out in illustration
A freelance illustrator since 1985, Smith began as a junior designer at the BBC, then went on to do illustrations for the Radio Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Financial Times, and The Telegraph. Her illustrations of maps were in particularly high demand. Since moving to Hackney, she has had illustrations commissioned by Hackney Council and the Hackney Museum. She has also exhibited at Homerton Hospital as well as at several local cafés. Her illustration of Broadway Market is her bestseller on her Etsy shop, which has amassed a cult following.
Smith’s early portfolio largely featured hand crafted work with watercolours, linocuts, wood engravings and collages, but since 2000, the era of new media allowed her to move into the realm of the digital. The Hundred Years gallery in Hoxton is a source of inspiration: it’s a dynamic space which prides itself on innovative art forms, offering a platform for underrepresented artists. A penchant for the “trendy” feel of Stoke Newington’s Church Street, the tranquil meanders of Regent’s Canal, and the unmistakable dynamism of Ridley Road Market (“…it’s lively, but it’s never intrusive”): Smith is never devoid of inspiration within Hackney’s boisterous surroundings.
Bringing Hackney’s streets to life
Smith describes her illustrations as busy, vibrant and colourful. She tends to draw high-rise buildings, maps and cityscapes; everything she wasn’t surrounded by in her childhood. But whilst the communities provide the colour which characterises Smith’s creations, people never take centre stage. Instead, she populates the streets with outlines of figures, generating the multicultural bustle which Hackney is known for, without stereotyping those within it.
It was the diversity of Hackney’s community which gave artistic hopefuls like Smith back in the early 90s, the opportunity to figure out who they were: “Hackney is very accepting; you can be anything you want here.” The hedonism of this “party city” gives the area its spirited reputation, yet Smith has never felt as though people in Dalston are “intrusive”: “I could be in some lovely, clean, sedate place somewhere else, but I just wouldn’t feel the same vibe as I feel in Hackney”.
The gentrification of Dalston
Has it changed much since she first moved? “Dalston has developed a lot, but it hasn’t lost its essential charm. Now it’s much more chi-chi – it’s designed for City people. It has become a little bit too gentrified, to the point where creative people are getting forced out because they can’t afford it. A lot of creative people don’t have much money, but these people helped make it vibey in the first place.”
Nevertheless, Smith still feels that the borough continues to thrive as a hub of creative activity: “Hackney still does attract a nice artistic vibe, even if it is too expensive for a lot of people. Artists like to go where other artists are. There’s no point in going to some sort of suburb where it’s just really mainstream because you need to get feedback and you need to get inspiration from people too. Artists work on their own a lot of the time – that’s one of the downsides of the job. So, we need other artists to enthuse us and to inspire each other. Where there are artists, there are always galleries.”
Smith’s sketches have brought every nook and cranny of Hackney’s streets alive over the past 30 years, yet the area still possesses hidden gems which she’s discovering today. The East London borough is familiar to Smith, who can’t see herself ever leaving: “Hackney feels like it’s my home; it’s looked after me, so I look after it as well.”
Smith is holding a free Mother’s Day card making workshop between 12-3pm on Saturday 26 March at St Augustine’s Tower in Lower Clapton.
To see more, follow @janeillustration on Instagram or go to JaneillustrationArt on Etsy.
