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
Pool
Swimming pool & Lager. Bodrum, Turkey 2009
Swimming Pool. Bodrum, Turkey 2009
Street Life
After his family went into debt Charles Dickens found himself working at a shoe-polish factory. The experience made him realize that the members of the lower class were the same as himself but were given no chance to ‘better’ themselves. It became Dickens mission to champion the plight of ‘street urchins’ and the poor in general. The photograph below was taken in Cheshire Street – a place that would have been familiar to Dickens. I wonder what the two images would provoke in Dickens mind. In the 1980’s children roamed their local streets freely but today they are mostly at home and locked onto their computers. I’m sure Dickens would have wanted to give these children a voice.
Cafe with child. Cheshire Street, London 1985
Early morning street with child. Sylhet, Bangladesh 1996
