St Bartholomew’s Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
A few years ago I was the photographer in residence at the Barts and the London NHS Trust. I was commissioned to provide fresh photographs of London for St Bartholomew’s and record the buildings which were to be pulled down as part of the building programme. I never expected I would return as a patient some years later. These images reflect a month long stay as a patient. For three of the weeks I was flat on my back and unable to move out of my bed. This imprisonment was made bearable by the wonderful staff who cared for me and the world I was able to photograph from my bed.
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
These telephone masts viewed through the window next to my bed became good friends after a few weeks.
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
St Bartholomew's Hospital 2010
Tony Blair as baby Jesus
Tony Blair as the baby Jesus, photomontage 2003
In 2003 I held an exhibition which launched Photomonth for that year called Comrades. Hosted at the Four Corners gallery it took a satirical look at the Labour government of the day. This photomontage uses a Hungarian painting of the Virgin and Child with Tony Blair’s head.
Arrest of Tony Blair. Photomontage 2003.
This photomontage imagines Tony Blair as a peace protester being arrested close to the Houses of Parliament. I photographed the Labour Party leadership extensively in the early 90’s for Labour Party news. The images I accrued through this work were the principle resource for the exhibition.
Tony Blair as Jesus. After Caravaggio 2003.
Here we have the simple substitution of a Tony Blair head in Caravaggio’s masterpiece depicting the supper at Emmaus.
Torn fly poster with Brown, Blair and Cook, 2003
Tony Blair as the President of the United States, 2003.
Gordon Brown and Tony Blair on Brighton Pier, 2003
Tony Blair and John Prescott at a Labour Party conference, early 1990's
The exhibition also included straight photographs of Labour politicians which were accompanied with quotes from the subjects.
Bikes on Brick Lane
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
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.
Bicycles and lights on Brick Lane 2002
An accidental juxtaposition of coloured lights and bikes outside a shop in Brick Lane.
Candle portrait
Portrait of Hazuan by candle light, 2010
I love taking photographs in low light. These portraits of Hazuan Hashim were taken in the kitchen of our flat in Whitechapel.
Portrait of Hazuan by candle light, 2010
Portrait of Hazuan by candle light, 2010
Hazuan on the District line, 2004
Without candles on the District Line.
Bicycle freedom
Boy riding a bicycle in Liverpool, 1979
Many of my childhood memories are coloured by bicycle adventures. I treasure the experience of speed and freedom that was initiated when I got a brand new bike for Christmas in the early 1960’s. The boy riding his bike around inner city Liverpool breathes life into the derelict landscape. I am reminded of the observations of Liverpool resident John Lennon: “As a kid I had a dream – I wanted to own my own bicycle. When I got he bike I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world. I lived for that bike. Most kids left their bike in the backyard at night. Not me. I insisted on taking mine indoors and the first night I even kept it in my bed.”
Boy riding a bike on Brick Lane, 1983
In 1983 Brick Lane had a quiet personality compared to its current manifestation as a stylish leisure destination and urban heritage trail. The haberdashery the boy is cycling past has been replaced by a restaurant and evidence of the rag trade has almost completely disappeared. Brick Lane is a great place to cycle through but I envy the boy in the photograph who didn’t have to contend with heavy traffic and pedestrians with a propensity to walk in the middle of the road.
Three bicycles on Vallance road, 1987
I’ve often thought that the solution to car gridlock and pollution is staring us in the face. We could learn a lot from the cyclists in these photographs. It is likely that the three cyclists on Vallance Road have exchanged their bikes for cars. Bicycling has to be a big part of the future if we are to have cleaner city air and a healthier population. Looking at these photographs I am struck by the absence of cars.
