Two-hundred and forty photographs are currently on show in the Kaleidoscope Gallery in Sevenoaks, taken across the town of all the shop fronts and businesses that make up the town’s high street. Tomorrow is the last day to see the exhibition.

Envisioned by Cllr Victoria Granville-Baxter, she says the idea behind the exhibit was to help illuminate the “demise of the high street” and to give people a greater appreciation for what there is in Sevenoaks, but the meaning of the project evolved once Coronavirus hit.

About half the photos of shop fronts and their staff had been taken, a total of 125, by March but as lockdown dropped, the photographs could no longer be taken with the staff. The photographs were still taken but now documenting the emptiness of the high street post-covid. Granville-Baxter says that the ones with the workers are “heart-breaking” given the nostalgia now present with Coronavirus, but also much more interesting; “They have the liveliness and the life.

“Most of the responses we have are just how wonderful it is to look at people all jostling together, laughing and giggling, with their arms around each other.”

Roger Lee, the photographer who took the photos and wrote the accompanying exhibition book, agreed Coronavirus made it even more significant. As a former academic the book however was just as important as the exhibition itself. It features commentaries on aspects of urban change that he hopes expand the appreciation of the photographs.

The images themselves were inspired by the “absolutely brilliant” work of Eugene Atget and Roger did not use a filter on the lens so that the reflections in the window to truly document the town. He says the exhibition however should be seen in person, he said: “The impact of going in to see all 250 business in one room is remarkable.

“It still moves me every day when I go in to see if any of the images have fallen.”

Sue Evans, who runs the Kaleidoscope gallery with her partner Ros Barker, agreed saying that online exhibitions really cannot compare to being confronted with a piece in real life.

The Gallery is run by the Sevenoaks Visual Arts Forum which is a collection of 80 local artists who network and show work together. Solo, community, international and school exhibitions are all held at the gallery located in the town’s library.

The next two shows are solo exhibitions as these are easier to arrange during a pandemic. Modern artist David Minton will display his Still Life series and then sculptor Rob Leighton will present Matter of Σ importance.