Hole in the Roof
I discovered this lone plastic bag in the roof of a Brick Lane restaurant. It had been placed there to cover a hole in the roof and stop rain coming through. I thought it was like a butterfly that had failed to escape into the open and had become imprisoned and frozen in time.
Taj store plastic carrier bag. Brick Lane, London 1997
Jemaa El Fna square in Marrakech
View from cafe in Jemaa El Fna square
View from a cafe in Jemaa El Fna square. Marrakech, 2005
View from a cafe in Jemaa El Fna square. Marrakech, 2005
Whitechapel Portrait
Man at Whitechapel Station. Whitechapel, London 1986
Photo Booth
The couple in this image exude excitement. There is a degree of expectancy over the print about to be issued by the booth. Its as if the booth holds secrets about the couple until the photograph is handed over. Even after the strip of images emerge care needs to be taken to allow the image to dry as air is pumped over it in the ‘exit tray’.
A couple await their photographs from the photo booth. Whitechapel station, London 1982
The photographs produced by this booth have a special status as they are “passport approved”. I have an image in my head whereby the booth emits people from around the world holding onto their “passport approved” photos.
‘A Decade of Achievement’
The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) held a tenth anniversary awards dinner in July 1991 to celebrate the policies of the Tory Government in the docklands area. A range of policies were applied to ‘enterprise zones’. Big business ensured that small scale industries – a vital source for local employment – could not compete given the rise in land prices.
A table set for the 'decade of achievement' LDDC dinner, 1991.
Guests were treated with a selection of fine wines and free BT phone cards. Local communities opposed the LDDC as they viewed it as a vehicle designed to benefit business. In all, there was a net loss of jobs and housing. There was nothing for local people in terms of jobs or housing whereas big business was able to use the enterprise zones to avoid planning restrictions and tax.
Protest opposite the 10th anniversary dinner. Docklands, 1991
Protesters make their point in the rain (above) as Michael Heseltine looks onto the dining room (below) where awards were later given out to various businesses.
LDDC anniversary dinner 1991
The rhetoric of regeneration always promises opportunities for the local population. The promise of jobs and decent homes has accompanied the development of Olympic sites but failed to convince locals.
