Edge Of The City
Although most of these locations are familiar to me, I did not recognise many of them when I first saw these pictures. Using large plate cameras and taking inspiration from nineteenth century photography, especially the Society for Photographing the Relics of Old London, Robert Moye & Peter Young have created photos of contemporary London that place a distance between the viewer and the subject – as if we were people in the future looking back upon a time gone by or even viewers from the past granted a vision of the London that is to come. Either way, the unfamiliar perspectives of these fascinating photographs have succeeded in rendering afresh the city I know best and it is a strange new world that I discover myself in.
Artillery Lane, E1
Chicksand St, E1
Greatorex St, E1
Ford Sq, E1
Baldwin St, EC1
Clerkenwell Close, EC1
Cranwood St, EC1
Golden Lane Estate, EC1
Leather Lane EC1
Newbury St, EC1
Roberts Place, EC1
Christopher St, EC2
Clere Place, EC2
Dysart St, EC2
Vandy St, EC2
Bream’s Buildings, EC4
Johnson’s Court, EC4
Argyle Walk, WC1
Argyle Walk, EC1
King’s Cross Rd, EC1
Phoenix Place, WC1
St Chad’s Place, WC1
Swinton St, WC1
Wicklow St, WC1
Lindsey St, EC1
Photographs copyright © Robert Moye & Peter Young
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Beatiful and serene.
I agree that although most are likely known to the viewer they do appear alien at first.
I think what renders these pictures as so fascinating is the lack of people, cars, movement etc.
Like a shot from the 1950s, we rarely see the city in this state is stillness.
These are impressive images. Empty, eerie streets probably taken early in the morning. Reminiscent of Eugene Atget’s photographs of Paris, they depict the familiar in an unfamiliar way. Being an inveterate rambler of London’s myriad lanes, alleys and hidden places I know most of these streets but the angle of view taken by the photographers reveals some interesting details, such as the façade hanging from the building in Artillery Lane. When you view it from this angle it looks ridiculous. The fact that they are black and white means that we view them almost like abstract paintings, indeed the picture of Golden Lane Estate could almost be a Ben Nicholson or a Mondrian. The light is also important in these pictures. The wet, glistening surfaces of Artillery Lane reflecting the light back onto the buildings in the narrow street, the flat, even light in others serve to flatten perspective of the clustered buildings so they become a collection of lines, planes and shades of grey. And yet there is still that unmistakeable look of London that no other City in the world has.
Beautiful images, although I’m not surprised the GA didn’t recognise some of them as they are literally from a time gone by. Edmund Martin’s shop is now a gaping hole where the ticket hall for Farringdon Crossrail station is being built. I wonder how many of the other locations have changed.
The photos are good, but it’s a shame that so many of these old streets are already overshadowed by those huge and ugly towers. Valerie
Personally I like these images although, unlike others, I am not familiar with the scenes depicted. However I was trained to use a plate camera, and I am really pleased to see that the skill has not been lost. As always black and white does inevitably create more atmosphere than any colour photograph, and reflections from a wet pavement are a gift to the photographer. More like these please GA.
Perhaps one day someone will take portraits of people with a plate camera again, that I really would like to see, how about it Robert and Peter?
Lovely work.
Beauty in austerity. Timeless images. As usual with a unique atmosphere. Thank you.