Raquel Diniz

Drawing on her experience as a commercial architectural photographer, Diniz reflects on the grandeur and the social utility of the build environment. Her current project charts the changes in her neighbourhood of Peckham in South London, and proximity, where grassroots groups are working toward urban renewal and conserving the community against gentrification.

A brick structure with four white columns in a park setting, surrounded by trees and greenery. A person walks by holding an umbrella, with a trash can visible in the foreground.
Street view of Peckham, London, featuring graffiti-covered walls, a cyclist on the road, and signs for businesses like S&S Cash & Carry and Lycamobile. There is construction scaffolding on a building and a railway bridge overhead.
Urban street scene featuring a red double-decker bus, graffiti-covered walls, brick buildings, and arched pedestrian walkway.
Exterior view of the Aylesham Centre, a brick building with round windows and blue balconies, featuring graffiti-covered storefronts labeled 'Market Place Peckham.'
Street view with a large billboard saying 'Community is Kindness', construction barriers in front, a convenience store, and a food hall.

  • All images: Untitled, work in progress, 2021

Raquel Diniz is a London-based photographer, specialising in cultural and architectural spaces, with a master degree in Image and Communications at Goldsmiths university.

Over the years, Raquel has lived in two countries - Brazil and England - where she has participated in group exhibitions at Tiradentes Photography Festival, Tomie Ohtake Institute and the Bargehouse. Raquel is particularly interested in photographing architectural projects that consider a building’s design, both its interior and exterior, as a point of connection with people and the space it exists in. Furthermore, how to translate this symbiotic relationship into images is what Raquel seeks to convey in her work.

In 2021, Raquel joined Feminist Photography Network online residency, where she explored themes of cities, community engagement and the built environment. In her work-in-progress, Raquel hopes to gain an understanding of the current developments happening in Peckham and learn about how much planning and construction affect the local communities.