Three Ladies of Whitechapel
This Lady is seen pulling her trolley outside Christchurch, Spitalfields. She is moving away from the ‘Jack the Ripper’ pub (now called the ‘Ten Bells”).
Lady with trolley. Commercial Street, London 1983
Lady with trolley. Brick Lane, London 1984
Lady on Vallance Road. whitechapel 1985
A Tale of Two Cities
Holland Estate. Spitalfields, London 2009
The Holland Estate nestles at the western tip of Spitalfields next to the City and Petticoat Lane. Over the next year it will become the focus of our film cameras as the area will feature in the latest edition of the ‘East End Lives’ project supported by East End Homes .
Holland Estate. Spitalfields, London 1986
The feature length film will examine the impact of the City on the area, explore its history and envisage change all through the characters of residents or workers in the neighbourhood. The film will also draw on characters already seen in previous East End Lives films making it a project that will pull together 5 years of East End filming exploring history, the present and the future. This unique celebration of the East End will be launched at the East End film festival in 2013.
Bathroom & Kitchen in one. Holland Estate. Spitalfields 1986
Images of Poverty
We are so used to images of poverty from developing countries that their impact is diminished. We are told there is an inevitability about poverty. This is not to say that the mainstream media is overflowing with poor people, on the contrary it is overflowing with celebrity. Nevertheless the physical conditions of the majority of humanity is not addressed by the media enough, creating a kind of consumerist media bubble for the richer nations with millions of consumers. The images of poverty that we do see are devalued because they come with an editorial baggage suggesting hopelessness because of state corruption, environmental disasters or other misfortunes; everyone is a helpless victim. There is little analysis of the foreign policy of richer nations and the role of multinationals and their impact on the majority world. Niether is their consideration for movements based on solidarity and a fight for justice.
The photograph below illustrates life for some young children in Bangladesh. They survive with a small income by selling on recyclable objects.
Children on a landfill sight where they search for recyclable materials. Dhaka, Bangladesh 2008
How do you connect a photograph like the one above with the lives of people in the richer world? The photomontage below attempts to close the circle by placing the child’s environment in the city of London thus raising a host of issues relating to the cause of poverty in countries like Bangladesh.
A child on a landfill site. Photomontage 2008
At its simplest the photomontage above attempts to explode the myths that poverty (such as that seen above) is inevitable and unconnected with policies in richer countries. It is designed to get people talking and challenging stereotypes about the causes of poverty.
We Are Leaving London
Stanstead Express from Liverpool Street, London January 6 2012
Stanstead Express from Liverpool Street, London January 6 2012
Stanstead Express from Liverpool Street, London January 6 2012
Stanstead Express from Liverpool Street, London January 6 2012
Stanstead Express from Liverpool Street, London January 6 2012
Stanstead Express from Liverpool Street, London January 6 2012
Hazuan in Palma de Mallorca, January 7 2012
Ladies of Character and Fortitude
Woman in Cheshire Street. Spitalfields, London 1987
All of these photographs were taken close to where I live. Today it seems that ladies like these are a rarity. A great shame.
Two ladies outside Davenant House, Old Montague Street, London 1984
Vallance Road. London 1987
