JUST days before A level student Nassirudeen Isa-Osawe was due to celebrate his 17th birthday he was killed by a single stab wound to the chest in Islington.

In an effort to make sense of this harrowing tale, now an all too familiar story on London’s streets, and to raise awareness about youth violence, Nassirudeen’s brother, the acclaimed photographer Sal Idriss is staging a short exhibition at Vestry House Museum this week.

Famous For The Wrong Reasons is the culmination of a Waltham Forest-based pilot project, which involved Sal working closely with three families affected by fatal stabbings. The artist has taken portraits of the families at the scenes of the murders in the borough, which will be exhibited alongside an accompanying documentary film about their experiences.

Speaking about the show, the photographer says: “My aim is to educate young people and use the emotional power of photography to deter those vulnerable to or already engaged in criminality.

“My intention is to honestly present devastated families. Not as names and numbers in the system, but as the families who are famous for the wrong reasons.”

Sal, whose portraits of 20 famous black Britons are currently on show at the National Portrait Gallery, continues: “The exhibition will provide a chance to grieve and honour the lives of those lost, including my brother. It will explore the raw emotion and unique way in which different families mourn the loss of a loved one.”

The artist’s intention is to take the exhibition London-wide in the future.

Famous For The Wrong Reasons runs at Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road, Walthamstow, from Thursday, August 27 until Sunday, August 30. For more information call 020 8496 4391