“Closed for Business” portrays the decline of small businesses. Seemingly in detached style, shot from a frontal view, the photographs follow a formal structure, unified in perspective and colour palette. This typological approach underscores the disappearance of independent shops from London’s streets.

Most images, taken between 2007 and today, stem from Hackney in East London, where the artist lives. The series becomes both a personal observation of her neighbourhood and a record of broader urban change. While rooted in London, the work reflects a wider global transformation of city centres.

The project documents the façades of once-vibrant high streets, exploring the effects of commercial standardisation, shifting consumer habits, and the impact of the pandemic. Through her lens-based practice, Bachmann traces the language of everyday spaces, mapping memory, belonging, and the relationship between place and identity.

_____