Photographer Bella Foxwell has been capturing London's beautiful doors that a lot of people walk past. Her Instagram page, named The Doors of London, features a rainbow of facades so quirky that they resemble props from a Wes Anderson film.
Doors fascinate Bella for many reasons. "It's partly that I admire people who put so much pride into their front door, particularly those that are very daring, with a strong shade of paint or extravagant door knocker," she said."And it's partly that doors are very symbolic. Whether it's because they represent new opportunities, or because they remind of home. There's something special about them."
The selection ranges from Notting Hill to Brixton and beyond. The feature recorded more than 38,000 followers at the time, marking one stage of the project's audience.
An entrance becomes an individual portrait
A front door can communicate through a surprisingly small vocabulary. Paint establishes a broad impression, while a knocker or letterbox adds a point of emphasis. The surrounding wall gives those choices context: an entrance never quite stands alone, even when it fills most of the photograph.
A similar viewpoint lets small differences become conspicuous. One entrance may depend on a strong color, another on the relationship between a modest door and an elaborate surround. Hardware adds another scale of attention, drawing the eye from the whole facade to a knocker or letterbox. The series works almost like portraiture because the shared format makes each subject's choices legible. No person has to appear for the threshold to suggest care, taste and a particular idea of home.
The threshold belongs to both private life and the street, making it an especially rich subject for a public-facing portrait of home.
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