Photographic project inspired by immigrants in London

Rainbow suits, yoga mats and a human boombox have all brought flashes of inspiration and colour to a photography project celebrating first-generation settlers in the UK.

London photographer JJ Keith has been working on the series of portraits for a year.

The collection is dedicated to his father, who was born in Vienna and sought refuge in the UK after the rise of the Nazis.

Keith's Portrait of a Diverse Nation, described as "intimate pictures of successes, hardships and adventures", examines the cultural contributions of people from across the world who have found their home in London.

Here, the man behind the camera describes some of the people in front of it.

Jama Elmi is from Somalia; he moved to the UK when he was eight. His father, having been ambassador to the UK, was able to migrate here with his six children fleeing the civil war.

When Jama started school in Chalk Farm, he found it difficult to make friends and integrate. Aged nine, he went and bought himself pink trousers and a Hawaiian shirt. All the kids came flocking.

In 2018, Jama was traveling on the Central line from Stratford to Queensway. He looked around and at himself, everything was black, white or grey. Exasperated by the drabness, he went straight out shopping and the passion for the power of flamboyant dressing was reignited. Jama now has between 80 and 90 colourful suit combinations.

His suits still play an important therapeutic role in his day-to-day work. Each resident gets to pick their favourite colour for him to wear on a chosen day and when one resident wouldn't talk any more, Jama decided to turn up in a completely 'wrong' clashing outfit. She couldn't resist commenting and soon the communication lines were reinstated.

Cat Alip-Douglas moved to New York from the Philippines with her family at the age of seven. Cat speaks with a subtle soft East Coast accent.

Her life in metropolitan Manila was a privileged one. At the time, it was still under a dictatorship and divided into the haves and have-nots. Her parents employed domestic help, not out of desire or necessity but to aid those in need. She remembers the first morning of school in the US being laughed at by her sisters for sitting on the end of her bed with arms raised waiting to be dressed.

On September 11, 2001, Cat was in the office when Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. The focus on an upcoming work event meant she remained rooted to her desk, highlighting her "obliviousness and self-absorption".

Like for so many, this turned out to be a wake-up call and a defining moment in her life. The yoga practice and its spiritual learnings became a lifeline.

Elizabeth Akalawu was born in Imostate, south-east Nigeria, where her parents were yam farmers.

She planned to come to the UK for two years - but 60 years later she's still here. It wasn't an easy start though; she used to cry from homesickness.

In the 80s as a school nurse in Brent, she discovered black parents were fearful of going to parents' evenings and disadvantaged children were suffering. So, 'Nurse Liz' went on home visits to persuade the parents to attend. It worked. School nurses across Brent then followed suit.

A new era began.

Florent Charly Romain Bidois was born in 1986, "just like Lady Gaga". His parents were both cleaners for a city council near Rennes and still live where they grew up.

He says: "I am different. I am a Breton through and through, I'm a sailor, I'm a traveller, I'm an adventurer. I am Indiana Jones. Rennes was too small and France too judgemental."

Florent initially came to London in 2011 for a pattern-cutting internship and immediately felt a sense of belonging. He also came because of his love of the English language, but quickly realised London gave him the space to develop and express himself.

Dr Jai Kumari Gir was born in 1934 in Hyderabad, a childhood she describes as 'completely idyllic'. In a sign of things to come, she delivered two of her own brothers when her mother went into labour.

They called her the 'gypsy girl' because of her incessant lust for travel and adventure and it soon became clear she wanted to make a career for herself in England, not least because she had a thing about a classy English gentleman, with a particular penchant for Roger Moore.

She buckled down and studied hard. It took four months to get exams results in those days as the papers were shipped back to the UK. She gained a place at Girton College, Cambridge but because of currency restrictions couldn't take it up. She continued to study in India till the restrictions eased and then took a place at West London School of Medicine (now Charing Cross Hospital) in 1956.

She was quick to integrate into the UK, something she believes was helped by the lightness of her skin.

She "loved necking ciders" in and around Holland Park and Notting Hill.

As a gynaecologist for many years and then a doctor in general practice, she stresses the health service in the 1960s was under the same pressure due the squeezing of resources.

Viveth Hardy is "Jamaican born and bred".

Since moving to the UK, she's been making commuters smile with her special gift of song. Why does she do it?

She says: "It warms my heart. It's something to do with the within. I don't do it because I want to sing. It's a spiritual thing. I can't control it.

"If it comes, I have to get with it. I don't have any shame in my game. I be on the platform. I be on the street. I be at home. I just sing.

"I be sleeping. I wake up in the morning with a song in my head. I just sing. I'm like a boombox."

She's a boombox that's a bit of a legend in Kensal Rise.

JJ Keith's London section of Open Britain: Portrait of a Diverse Nation, external can be seen with the rest of his portfolio on his website.

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