Tag: Lea river

Two Metres

by

Two Metres – just an arbitrary measure of distance; it does not really have any meaning because it could be 1 metre or 1.55 metre. Yet in March 2020 in the UK Two Metres became a new proscribed social distance we had to abide by. Suddenly Two Metres was no longer some random distance but a measure we would have to abide by (though as we learned later not those who came up with the rules).

Signs proscribing this new social distance quickly appeared — a new protocol was in place.

As we were told to stay home our universe shrank — we could only go as far as we could cycle or walk, so our sense of place began to change. As London de-populated and the cars disappeared from the A12 a new universe emerged — a strange silent place where the people were no longer present. It felt surreal as all our assumptions of normal were upended.

But the bird calls increased — and the solitary travellers appeared.

As I ventured out for my daily exercise, something allowed under the rules, I discovered how the world around me was adapting, the socially distancing meetings and the signs of those who perhaps decided that this wasn’t for them.

Observing the de-populated world and the normally vibrant public spaces that had closed down — I was delighted to find the evidence that there were those determined souls who had decided to gather despite guidance, revealing a healthy view to carry on regardless.

My daily walks revealed the sad deaths that emerged out of the pandemic and then the release when we were allowed to gather again, but I wonder if the impact of this time will continue?

It felt we were entering a period of changed priorities ahead.

Exploring Photobooks

by

Over the last few years I have been exploring how to translate some of my projects into book form.

I love the idea of photographs in print and the way you can order and sequence images in a book. I have a large collection of photo books in my library, which has been an inspiration as I have started to explore the form for myself.

It is still early days as I have started to experiment. It has been an amazing journey as I have looked at transporting digital projects into print form. I really enjoy the process of selecting and sequencing and thinking about the design of the images on the page.

I have been working on several long-term projects in London, one which has involved multiple journeys on the London bus, and numerous walks up and down London’s second river, the Lea. As I explore sequencing and image choices I realise that the extended projects I have been working on can tell a range of different stories, based on the order and selection of the images.

The most recent projects I’ve made into books are a Journey along the Lea, London’s second river.


The other recent project is Action or Extinction, one of many approaches to the experience of the London commute.

You can see more by visiting my publications page here.

Love to hear what you think email me at [email protected]

Borderlands

by

The edge or boundary of something, or the part near it.

Borders define the spaces in-between — the crossing points from one place to another. Following the course of London’s second river, the Lea, I’ve discovered the series of edgelands — real, historical and mythological that occur along it’s path.

Whether in transition from London to the home counties, the traditional Middlesex Essex border or the more ancient Danelaw Wessex border we are in a landscape of present and ancient liminal spaces a shifting space — a boundary land that is neither one thing or the other.

Borderlands is also available in book form from Urban Impressions.

Meandering along the Lea

by

Meandering – to follow a winding course, to wander in a leisurely or aimless manner.

Meander originates from Maiandros, the name of a river, which flows through modern Turkey. It has come to define not just a wandering river but aimless journeys more generally.

This sense of an aimless journey was my starting point to explore the Lea, London’s second river, which rises in rural Hertfordshire and winds it’s way through East London to its eventual confluence with the Thames near the old East India dock.

The Lea has played a variety of roles in London’s development and history – as an ancient trade route for transporting wheat for bread and grain for gin, a border between Middlesex and Essex and more recently it’s winding path through East London has determined the boundaries of the island on which the London Olympics were held in 2012.

For centuries the Lea has been managed, re-routed and shaped to satisfy a variety of uses, blurring the demarkations between the natural and man-made. These cycles of history have left their traces in the landscape – a treasure map to explore and uncover.

The Lea is a landscape that shifts between the natural and the man-made – shaped through centuries of human habitation. This is what makes London’s second river such an engaging route to investigate. It is an integral part of London but one often forgotten.

My Lea river walk follows a meandering course up and down stream at will, building an iterative series of impressions of my experience of the river.