For 17 days in September 2022, Victoria Square in the centre of Birmingham was transformed into a striking pop-up garden and temporary urban oasis. Giant architectural trees rose above the square, creating a dramatic canopy against the city skyline, while thousands of plants and flowers were co-planted by local residents to form a rich mosaic of colour, texture and life. PoliNations celebrated biodiversity, beauty and shared experience, turning a civic space into somewhere people could wander, gather and pause.

As the official photographer for PoliNations, I documented the Victoria Square site build as it unfolded in real time. My role was to capture the gradual transformation of the space — from steel frameworks, groundwork and planting systems to the finished public installation at the heart of the city. I focused on both the physical build and the people behind it: the precision of the construction, the collaboration between teams and the quiet moments of concentration that shaped the project.

Photographing the Birmingham build allowed me to tell the story of a city square being reimagined. I was interested in the contrast between hard urban surroundings and the emerging softness of the installation, and in showing how an ambitious temporary structure could settle so naturally into the rhythm of the city.