The polar ice caps are melting. Before long you won’t be able to enjoy a nice slice of cod on Fish Friday. The United Nations tell us that children in the UK are worse off than in any other developed country. The 2012 Olympics are going to be one long cringe fest. Wealth divides seem irreversible. 'Eastenders' is what we use to cheer ourselves up. Internationally and nationally, the shit, my dear friends, is splendidly hitting the fan.

Having a score in your back pocket might make you feel slightly better about life but forgetting the filthy lucre completely and making something out of nothing is a whole new buzz. The Knitting Circle were right! Sure, now is the time for eco wars and self-improvement schemes, but for most of us adjusting to these lean, troubled times is a necessity rather than a lifestyle choice. Allow PlanetNotion to introduce you to some bright young British things who are shirking limited means and all manner of obstacles to offer their art up to a world that can’t afford to pay them back for it. This new generation of shoestring creators recycle hardship and frustration as invective and inspiration; borders become portals and hope is never in short supply.

Meet Roger 'Flash Boy' Molloy, a photographer whose philosophy is 'Use what I have.' Forget soupedup digital gizmos and Photoshop wizardry: Roger uses his Sony Ericsson mobile phone for all of his work - 'Yeah, maybe I’ll buy a laptop one day,' - and the doorway of the flat where he rents a room along Shoreditch High Street is his makeshift gallery. An overturned cardboard box framed by light bulbs labelled 'ART' is his personal advert, with a chalk arrow etched on the pavement directing downward gazing passers-by to check out his photography. Roger’s fellow tenants have to duck under the white photo adorned sheet which hangs across the doorway: 'I haven’t had any real hassle, I'm an easy, lucky-go guy!' Just as Roger's landlord harbours plans to turn the flat into an Internet café, Roger is busy rallying support to make the place an art gallery; 'Time Out' are also running an article on me, so I’m just waiting for the press to give me some more muscle and persuade him that there’s commercial interest in art.'

London, predominantly the people, is what inspires Roger to document life like this; ‘It’s just such a great city, like New York, when you can walk down the street any time day or night and see something new.’ A popular print is ‘No Gray In My Day,’ where one foot firmly planted on Oxford Street points towards a rainbowed miniature miracle of nature: ‘The sunlight is focusing on something and acting like a prism, it’s completely natural.’ ‘Bombed’ freezes a freshly cleaned Brick Lane toilet in its old graffed-up state, while ‘Josh’ is the red lit exterior of a brothel. But Roger considers his first calling to be a portrait photographer. ‘Peace’ is a grainy, monochrome female face resembling an ultra scan image – ‘The model was actually very ill and sleeping at the time but I tried to make something peaceful out of it.’ Starting out by selling 50 photographs at £1 each, then paying for more prints and landing up at zero again, Roger agrees how other artists ‘might like to say they’ve struggled. I may not eat gourmet meals, but I’m not signing on or taking a government grant. I think people admire me for what I’m trying to do. It’s the people who suffer but don’t give up, that do make it.’ Word!

www.nograyinmyday.com

WORDS: LUCY WILSON