This photo book is a love letter to the spirit of Notting Hill Carnival

In the community photographer Hark1karan’s freshly printed photo book Arawak – Love, Power, Unity, the Notting Hill Carnival comes to life. Thumbing through the book, his photographs evoke memories of the last weekend of August when the sun is blinding, the temperature balmy and the streets of west London are flooded with bejewelled costumes and the sounds of steel bands. One of Europe’s largest street festivals, Notting Hill Carnival is a defining part of summer in London and is a celebration of the city’s Black Caribbean community and their cultural legacy. Hark1karan grew up going to Carnival, and it reflects the spirit of his childhood in south London, where he was constantly surrounded by people from different cultures. Talking on a video call, he says, “It was normal where I grew up to have neighbours and schoolmates who were from varied cultural backgrounds, which isn’t the case in a lot of places in the world but, for me, this mixing together of cultures was all I knew.” 

While most of his previous work is centred on the Punjabi and Sikh community in the UK, his latest photobook pays homage to this hybrid aspect of growing up in London. More specifically, the photographer wanted to shine a light on the Masquerade bands, which he feels are “the beating heart of Carnival”, despite, in recent years, having been overshadowed by sound systems. “In the past, when the world was different, Mas bands had big sponsors, but now it’s quite community-based and I think sometimes people forget about them. So this project was a chance to focus on that and help tell their story and share this work,” Hark1karan explains. 

Shot over a single day during Carnival 2024, the project documents the British-Trinidadian Mas band, Arawak, founded by Lynda Joseph and performing at Carnival for over 25 years. Several photographs capture the dancers in glistening costumes, moving together to Soca Music and seemingly bursting through the page. Others portray moments of ease, such as a striking photograph of a dancer getting his hair trimmed at the start of the day, encapsulating the breadth of a day-long stint as a participating Mas band. “The emblem of Arawak reads love, power and unity and, by the end of that day, that is what I felt because everyone was so welcoming,” Hark1karan recalls. “Going with a band is a very different experience from walking around, and I think it gives you access to a different energy and teaches you about the band’s culture. The parade is about the people and the Caribbean community, so learning about them and their histories is important. While  photographing the band, that is what I learned and captured, and hopefully, that’s what you feel in the book.” 

Hark1karan emphasises that this project is a collaboration, and that each aspect was thoughtfully conceptualised by the community, including the band’s founder Lynda Joseph, the artist Chris Neophytou who designed the book, and Shayne de-Landé who wrote the introductory text. “A lot of projects are about people’s separate identities and how everyone is doing things individually, but where I grew up in London, we do things together. I want to bring that sense of community to the creative space. This project is about coming together to tell a story as a unit,” he explains. “So when I created the book, I didn’t say, ‘I’m taking the pictures and doing my own thing.’ I met up with Lynda and asked her if the pictures represent Arawak. I wanted to know whether I was telling their story truthfully. So, there’s a process I follow to ensure the stories I share represent the community.” 

This aspect of the project underscores Hark1karan’s wider practice as a community photographer, which he sees as a part of his Sikh practice of service or seva. Expanding on this idea, he says, “I have a skill as a creative to shine a light on movements or communities that are perhaps underappreciated in the mainstream. In Arawak, I wanted to show how Carnival is about the people and how they share their culture through music and dance. As an artist, what I can do is help communicate these ideas to break boundaries and allow a wider audience to connect to these stories, even if they don’t fully see themselves in the work. I think that’s the thread that ties all my work together.” 

Arawak - Love, Power, Unity is available to pre-order here now.