Cockney rhyming slang was created in the mid 19th century in the East End of London, sources suggesting 1840. Yet today it is almost extinct. With the seeds of our modern multi-cultural society being sewn in the early 80’s through the growth of immigration, traditional cockney slang and other symbols of Britishness has slowly diminished and are now mere puns used to portray a stereotypical English person. Thinking back to when it originated in the 1840s, over 170 years, it is quite upsetting to think that in just 20 years we have almost flushed it out.
I decided that I wanted to try and photograph cockney rhyming slang terms and then see if anyone today would be able to recognize what the images stood for.
