Dhaka, Bangladesh 4th ‘Least Liveable City On Earth’ ?
Each year different league tables are constructed by western ‘analysts’ on how different countries are performing in relation to each other. The latest report by the The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Ranking provides scores for lifestyle challenges in 140 cities. Jon Copestake, editor of the report, said: ‘The latest rankings paint a very somber picture. We are seeing greater instability around the world including unrest in the U.S., political disruption in Turkey and Thailand and geopolitical disputes in Eastern Europe and Asia.’ According to the report Dhaka sits 4th from the bottom of the table at 137th place. I am skeptical about the point of such reports. There always seems to be an implication that a low ranking country is inferior to the rest of the world. There is never any analysis of loaded trade arrangements and the roles of multi-national companies in the economies of poorer countries. There is no analysis of the causes of global inequality.
I’ve always found Dhaka a welcoming and civilized place of culture. The poorest struggle to survive and the rich have an easy time but to describe it as one of the ‘least liveable’ places on earth is, to say the least, simplistic and an injustice.
Dhaka Bangladsh c.1992
Photomontage: London & Dhaka 2010
Dhaka Bangladesh 2009
Dhaka c.1994
Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
Dhaka Bangladesh c.1994
Dhaka Bangladesh 2008
Dhaka Bangladesh 1992
Photonontage: New York and Dhaka 2009
Dhaka, Bangladesh c.1992
School outside Dhaka, Bangladesh 2008
The students in the photograph (above) were planting, with scores of other pupils, hundreds of trees as part of their practical education in sustainability and flood prevention.
Dhaka, Bangladesh c.1992
London & Dhaka Photomontage 2009
Dhaka, Bangladesh c. 1992
Collage From Photographs
I miss printing photographs in the darkroom. The second bedroom in my Tower block flat in Whitechapel doubled as a darkroom for many years. Once the red light and music was switched on I was in photography heaven. The nearest I get sensually to the darkroom experience is through creating collages using images from my archive. I’ve always been interested in posters, graffiti and art found on walls in cities around the world; the images I’ve photographed on the wall are often the basis for the start of a collage. Once I’ve selected an image I will print it onto card using a black & white laser jet printer. Next I will add some acrylic paint and ink and then tear an image from one of my published photography books. Sometimes I will use a torn ‘test strip’ from my dark room days; fortunately I kept many test strips. Once I’ve glued the image to the card I will then scan the completed collage ready for printing as a limited edition print.
A wall in Whitechapel East London 2016
The finished collage 2016
A man sitting next to a wall in Athens 2005
The finished collage 2016
A wall in Whitechapel East London 2009
The finished collage 2016
Posters on the wall in Stepney East London 2009
The finished collage 2016
A wall in Whitechapel East London 2007
The finished collage 2016
A wall in Brick Lane East London 2007
The finished collage 2016
A metal gate off Brick Lane East London 2007
The finished collage 2016
A window in Budapest 2006
The finished collage 2016
A playground Wall in Poplar East London 2006
The finished collage 2016
Melaka In Malaysia
I’ve visited Melaka many times. These photographs were taken earlier this year.
In 2008 UNESCO listed Melaka as a world heritage site. Melaka was founded around 1400 by a former prince from Sumatra (who ended up in Malacca during an escape attempt in that area). Malacca turned out to have a very good strategic position, and not long after the foundation the influx of merchant ships from India and China started. During that time Malacca grew into one of the major ports in South-East Asia today. In 1511 the Portuguese traders first set foot on the Melakan soil. In 1641 the Portuguese gave up their power struggle (and war) with the Dutch and from that time onwards Melaka was under Dutch reign. Only a few years later, the English gained control over the area (after the Netherlands traded this region with the English for parts of Indonesia). The British rule lasted until 1957, when Malaysia was formed and Melaka continued as a semi autonomous province.
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Melaka 2016
Brick Lane: Recent Additions To The Archive
Here are some more photographs (recently digitised) from Brick Lane in the early 1980s. I’ve mixed them with more recent shots.
Brick Lane c.1985
Brick Lane c.1998
Brick Lane c.1985
Brick Lane c.1998
Brick Lane c.1991
Brick Lane Mosque 2005
Brick Lane c.1985
Brick Lane protest against the war in Iraq 2003
Brick Lane c.1983
Brick Lane 2005
Brick Lane On A Tripod
Most of my street photography is the result of a brief encounter between myself and the subject as we move past each other. Very occasionally I will use a tripod with the camera trained to one spot on the street. Usually this is done to create a series of images for insertion into a film or it might be to facilitate long exposures for night time photography. Exceptionally, the photographs below were taken in 1999 for a collage of photographs on Brick Lane.
Brick Lane 1999
Gilbert & George on Brick Lane 1999
Brick Lane 1999
Brick Lane 1999
Brick Lane 1999
Brick Lane 1999
Brick Lane 1999
Brick Lane 1999
