Moveable Chill Out
East End market stalls are on wheels to enable them to be moved to the market during the day and to a storage place in the evening. It is not unusual to find stalls on the street that are empty. Usually these empty stalls attract guests who find the stall a great convenience when it comes to having a rest.
A lady examines her purse whilst taking a rest in Cheshire Street. London 1985
Man resting on a market stall in Whitechapel Road. London 2007
The Political Class
During the 80’s & 90’s one of my regular freelance jobs was with a magazine called ‘Labour Party News’. This involved taking photographs of politicians as well as other things. I always had some difficulty with the politicians as they liked to pose. It could be difficult to get behind the pose and reveal the person behind the mask. Another difficulty was that even if you managed to produce a study that revealed the real person it was unlikely to be published as the editor would want a photograph that spoke of confidence, strength and sincerity (as well as other things depending on the subject of the article). As an antedote to the predictability of these assignments I enjoyed experimenting with the many images I collected of senior Labour politicians during this period. The images here are prints made from black and white negatives using a printing method I designed during this period. First of all I would spray the exposed print with a thin mist of developer; after a few minutes this would reveal the outline of the portrait. This outline, viewed in the red light of the dark room, enabled me to continue the developing process in a deliberate and selective style. Using a paint brush loaded with developer I would ‘paint’ areas of the print with the brush. These selected areas would raise the depth and black content of the print painted. Using this method I was able to emphasise certain features and draw out the character of the subject. I feel the images were more successful than those printed ‘normally’ but, of course, they were never published.
Neil Kinnock at a press conference. London 1992
Ken Livingstone. House of Commons, London 1992
Bernie Grant, House of Commons, London 1992
Tony Benn. House of Commons, London 1992
John Prescot. Press conference, London 1992
Jack Straw. Press conference, London 1992
The Fairy Lights of Capitalism
There is something deeply attractive, at a number of levels, about the artificial lights of a City. Warm, beckoning, hypnotic and illusory the lights change constantly in empathy with the weather.
The lights of Manhattan. Photomontage 2012
Why they blaze all night when shops and offices are empty is a mystery to me; perhaps its to persuade us that commerce and capital are strong compared to people; this is why the illusory contents of City lights are so persuasive. Nevertheless it is an illusion; switch them off and all that is left is us: the beguiled masses. People are the substance of a City. The fairy lights of capitalism always go bust.
The lights of the city. London 2002
Skateboard Photomontage
Skateboarder. Whitechapel Road, London 1985
The photograph of the skateboarder (above) became the inspiration for a large photomontage which explored the movement in the photograph by juxtaposing and repeating the image printed with different intensities.
Skateboarder. Whitechapel Road, London 1985 (detail)
Skateboarder. Whitechapel Road, London 1985 (detail)
Thinking
Sandra deep in thought. Photomontage 2007
Man thinking. Cafe, Whitechapel London 1984
