Though there was one particular event that spurred Seven Hills, the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in June 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests. “It was a reminder of the significance of making work in a place that I call home,” Chris says. “Bristol is historically a globally important city, due to its maritime history, which is as much tied to its pivotal role in the slave trade.” This event also ties to the series theme of myth-making. In the wake of the slave trade, how was it that Colston had been turned into a supposed philanthropist, with significant buildings, schools and statues all named in his honour?

Of all of the images in the series – pensive, golden-lit portraits, a fresh litter of puppies, huddled together, a lone gravestone by a tree, a young girl in Harry Potter pyjamas, resting on a family member’s arm – Chris draws our attention to one of two boys on a moped, taken near Cribbs Causeway, a shopping district in the far north of Bristol. “I went there to photograph kids hanging out with their cars, not really sure what to expect and wasn’t really being taken by much when I was there,” says Chris. “Until suddenly two lads rode in on what was clearly a stolen motorbike, they came speeding through into the car park, drove in between the cars at a fast pace burning out the tyres at the same time – everyone stopped and watched disapprovingly.” As the kids came past Chris he managed to stop them briefly, capturing a portrait, before they skidded off dramatically to the sound of sirens. “It was the brazen nature of what they did that stood out,” Chris says.

Seven Hills is a publication that feels like a “milestone” for Chris. “I’m proud of having finalised a book which expresses some of what I feel about my hometown,” he says. When people encounter it, he hopes to appreciate the aesthetic nature of the work, while also contemplating the message, using it as a medium for thought. Though the publication doesn’t mark the end for Chris, in fact it marks a start; the start of the photographer delving further into the themes so powerfully raised in this beautiful study.

Seven Hills is now available to purchase from RPB Photobooks.