PHIL MAXWELL

Looking West From Whitechapel

April 26, 2015

Looking West from Whitechapel 2014

Brick Lane 1984 – 2009

April 25, 2015

Lady walking under Brick Lane bridge, 1986

The bridge that spans Brick Lane now carries the crossrail line after many years of redundancy. This lady photographed pulling a shopping trolley looks quite majestic. Her imposing figure transcends the busy surroundings of the bridge.

Brick Lane bridge, 2002

Brick Lane also spans the main railway line into Liverpool street station. The splendid iron bridge over this artery has hosted thousands of fly posters that have changed on a weekly basis. I’ve always regarded this part of the lane as quite special because of the dominance of the tall iron surrounds and absence of buildings. The neatly sectioned compartments of the bridge have proved to be a natural resting place for posters of all kinds. Attempts to remove this organic free gallery have added to its appeal as different images and words end up colliding with each other to produce accidental collage of the highest order.

Posters urging support for the miners strike, 1984

As well as being a visual thermometer of events and music away from the mainstream it has proved itself as a welcome resting place for agitprop.

Brick Lane 2008

Brick Lane 2009

Outside the beigal shop, Brick Lane 2008

Portraits

April 24, 2015

This lady caught my eye after I emerged from Liverpool Street station early one evening in 1989. Her gaze appeared to be fixed on buildings accross Bishopsgate which are reflected by the glass of the restaurant. Her handbag next to the discarded burger container and cup is an accidental still life that perhaps hints at her precarious life. Bishopsgate was originally the location of many coaching inns which accommodated passengers setting out on the Old North Road.

Portrait of a lady at Bishopsgate opposite Liverpool street station

Portrait of a lady, 1989

Bishopsgate is characterised by people rushing to and from work and home. My subject sits gracefully apart from the world of work and deadlines. She is most likely pleased with the warmth provided by her window seat. A closer examination of her right hand reveals a cigarette that has been allowed to burn undisturbed for some time. Is she really studying the street or is her mind somewhere else?

Bishopsgate reflection, 1998

A brass plate advertising what is available in a coffee shop opposite Liverpool Street station. Combined with the reflections we have a fusion which heralds the fact that we are now in cappucino land. Since 1998 coffee shops have sprung up on Whitechapel Road and Brick Lane.

Dhaka, Bangladesh 1994

Child running next to train in Sylhet, Bangladesh 1994

Bicycles 1980 – 2009

April 23, 2015

Man with his bike, Grimsby street 1988

This gentleman is about to enter Brick Lane from Grimsby Street. He has just bought some second hand clothes from one of the many make shift stalls which appeared on Sundays. The inner tube he is holding suggests a puncture which might account for his forlorn expression.

Young woman on a bike, Brick Lane 2009

This trendy cyclist is going the wrong way down Brick Lane.

Man passes locked bike on Brick Lane, 2006

Liverpool c.1980

Dhaka, Bangladesh 2008

Bicycles on Brick Lane, 1982

The police officer is hurrying up Brick Lane to join colleagues at the start of a demonstration organised to stop the deportation of Afia Begum to Bangladesh. After her husband was killed in a fire she was deported despite protests. The children on their bikes joined the back of the demonstration which eventually ended outside the small police station next to Heneage Street.