CDN

 I met Wesley Baker at First Floor Space in the Whitgift Centre in 2018. Wes has an impressive knowledge of Croydon, particularly the architecture and has dedicated a lot of his time to documenting the changing landscape of the borough through photography, while riding around on his bike and blasting out tunes.

The following Pride T-shirt was an acquisition for this project in July 2020.

When I met Wes he was working on the progression of his work as CDN, which merges his love for Croydon, music, architecture and graphic design. I asked him to tell me a little more about it.

“CDN is me, it’s Croydon without saying Croydon, it’s ‘Can’t Do Nothing’, as in you can’t just stand by and do nothing or even worse especially in the case of a place like Croydon talk the place down, talk about leaving or actually leave and never do anything about the things you feel aren’t that great.”

Wes’ love for Croydon is clearly seen in the garments he sells in his online tee mill store which depict landmarks from Croydon and slogans relating to the town. I ask Wes what is so special about Croydon?

“Basically I’m a super fan of the area, many of the people I’ve met especially within the local creative community and the potential there is here to make somewhere uplifting to the community and those who visit it. Essentially it’s a brand and the brand I like to see as a tool to help to change hearts and minds about our town.”

One of my personal favourites is a design featuring the names of districts and landmarks of Croydon clustered into a heart shape. After Wes visited Croydon Pride he was inspired to create a special edition of his design in rainbow colours to represent LGBT+ Pride and the sense of pride he has for Croydon. I ask him what it was like growing up gay in Croydon;

“Growing up I didn’t have any friends who were out or know anyone personally who identified as LGBTQ+… everyone I was close to identified or presented as heterosexual and I didn’t really know there to be a scene in Croydon”.

In 2016, Croydon hosted it’s first civically recognised Pride Festival in Surrey St Market, which has since gone on to become the second largest Pride event in London. I asked Wes what it was like to have a Pride event in his hometown;

“for a Pride event to be held here makes me feel accepted, included and not alone. I saw heterosexual friends posting pics of them having a great time listening to the music and trying the food. People were just living their best lives and as a 2nd generation black British-Jamaican there were a lot of members of the black community in attendance. Speaking to one of the organisers it was great to hear that they’d put in the work and heavily promoted Croydon Pride at Black Pride so had gained a young black LGBTQ+ audience in addition to various other races and age groups - that was the icing on the cake for me.”

Wes is currently working on a mural design showcasing the talent to have come out of Croydon.
You can view his work on his Instagram, and you can shop online for merchandise on his store