ES 27/3/18

Found those two articles yesterday in the Evening Standard about two East End proposals. The one in blue is about what I just said in my previous post about Barking and the River Roding. In the other Tower Hamlet expresses the wish to invest for the homeless, which sounds a bit demagogic. Anyway, let's see how it goes...The East-End is always full of surprises - not.

RODING RIVER part 1

Day 1 of my trip along the Roving River. I was a bit worried of not getting access to the mouth of the river but after having a good read of the Google map I noticed a road access along the Beckton Sewage treatment Works. Left Barking train station towards the Northern Circular and realised there was a pathway starting at the junction with Jenkins Lane. So I hurried my way first to the Thames and decided to start photographing on my way back. As soon as you pass Frankie & Beany's and the Cinemas you are in a new territory. An endless road access goes between the river and the fence of the  Sewage Plant. After a bend you have the option to take an alternative route through the Creekside Trail Natural reserve (which doesn't appear on the Google map) There I met a born and bred Cockney gent who was taking care of the site. We had a lovely chat about the East End and its visceral appeal despite its constant transformation.

I started taking pictures as soon as I arrived at the Barking Creek Barrier. The weather was grey, the birds enjoying the industrial wastes and I was making my way back to Barking. I decided to return into the Creekside Trail and realised there were quite a few alternative dead-end paths to explore. This was a good move as the terrain was slightly elevated and I had now a better view of the surrounding areas. The sun shone through the clouds, the dense vegetations turned gold, the rabbits ran free, what beautiful time to be there. To be there and to be alone! I didn't see any soul on my hike apart from the caretaker - what a bliss! Soon my happiness melted down as I realised that my camera had the wrong settings and therefore the results weren't sharp enough. I got this second hand Fuji X100S mirrorless camera few weeks ago and am planning to use it for the Phase 2 of my project. But for some reasons the focusing system of my digital rangefinder which I love was not set properly. I can't believe it happens to me after 30 years of experience and of constant sharp results! Anyway, took it on my chin, changed the settings and moved on praying for some decent images of my first leg. There was not way I would go back to the mouth of the river, didn't have time. And I couldn't have replaced the joy I experienced then, it would have been a draw back mentally.

Left the trail and approached the A13. Weather grew darker but only few drops. Whereas my side of the river was only occupied by the Sewage Systems it is not turning and industrial Estate sort of area, similar to the opposite East side of the river. Got closer to Barking and entered a revamped area of the banks despite some relics of boats buried in the mud. The path is now made of tarmac, it's clean and modern. Walk over the Lock and I contemplate a familiar view, typical of the new East-End. Cheap, versatile, colourful new buildings glued together. A new shiny Industrial estate sits between the Northern Circular and the river Roding on the West banks. New Wharfs, Quays and so forth are burgeoning on the East side. Either side no access to the river - it's all private (in Barking, can you believe it) In the middle - barges, typical. And there is a lot more to be built!

I eventually managed to enter a Court and access the river. Opposite me is a waste empty terrain under demolition, waiting to rise up. Again sitting between the river and the Northern Circular. A bit further there is a small bridge and I photograph another vast empty zone on the East side. I knew my move further East was a good one but I wasn't expecting such a rapid continuation in Barking of what I have witnessed happening in the East End in the last few years. Next leg and probably final one of my Roding River Special between Barking and Wanstead.

CHANGING MAPS / PHASE 2

map 1882, original East-End

The East-End has its origins but it is also a notion in constant motion. Its blurry geography remains determined by poverty, migration, politics, affordability and access to central London.

The East End is historically located east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City and North of the River Thames. It does not have universally accepted boundaries, though the various channels of the River Lea are often considered to be the eastern boundary. It comprises of areas of Central London, East London and the Docklands. The area had a strong pull on the rural poor from other parts of England and attracted waves of migration from further afield: notably Huguenots refugees in the 17th century, Irish weavers, Ashkenazi Jews and, in the 20th century, Sylheti Bangadleshis (Wikipedia)

A later map redefine the area of the East-end by the end of the second World War. It comprises the borough of Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Not only then the Docklands were on the verge of decline but also the impact Nazi Germany had on the area redefined the "zone". The land had been badly hit and in such a bad state that it had to be re-built quickly.

Today, with an ever growing population and a regeneration program sparked by the 2012 Olympics we can re-think the East-End with the inclusion of the wider Newham borough. We can observe that the then small East-End from the late 19th Century has grown consistently and exponentially.

When I started the project in December 2009 I personally focused my work on the transience of the East-End in relation the 2012 Olympic games with its major building sites and architectural alterations burgeoning between Hackney and the new Stratford. The purple area represents my photographic investigations. North Greenwich peninsula, which I photographed last year, was an exception being South of the River (I will take it as a pivotal moment with my future work) That said I personally see it as an extension of the East-End phenomena after being a deprived, or an oddity within the landscape not so long ago. The Jubilee line, the cable cars and and the River boat make it easy for commuters and there is this feeling that it is following a pattern similarly experienced North of the River. In that sense we could also consider Bermondsey as being "East-End" but I prefer not to engage my research further South as it could become an ever increasing territory to cover.

Instead I envisage to start a new phase by concentrating my efforts between the River Lea and River Roding all the way up to Wanstead by the Redbridge Roundabout (see above) I will occasionally return to older areas previously visited to record the changes.

OPENING NIGHT 8/2/18

Great attendance and busy evening for Chris Dorley-Brown. Original show with lots of prints, memorabilia and slideshow in a dark tent. Go there asap it's great, and so is the book.

THE EAST END IN COLOUR / BOOK LAUNCH

(Taken from Facebook page)

Launch: David Granick: The East End in Colour 1960-1980

8th February from 6-8pm
Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives
277 Bancroft Road E1 4DQ
0207 364 1290

Exhibition from Saturday 3 February – Saturday 5 May
Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives

We are delighted to announce a new exhibition of previously unseen photographs by David Granick which depict Stepney, Mile End, Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Limehouse and the Thames riverside in the warm hues of Kodachrome film. In the decades following the end of the Second World War, the East End was a place usually captured in black and white, so these photographs present a rare chance to see views of these neighbourhoods in the 1960s and 1970s - some still familiar, many since vanished - in colour for the first time.

David Granick was born in 1912 and lived his whole life in Stepney. A Jew, a keen photographer and a long-serving member of the East London History Society, he gave lectures on various local history themes illustrated with colour slides taken by himself or his fellow members of the Stepney Camera Club. Bequeathed to Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives after his death in 1980, where they have been preserved ever since, these photographs show the East End on the cusp of social change.

The exhibition coincides with a beautiful hardback book of photographs from the Granick collection, to be published by Hoxton Mini Press. Discounted copies will be on sale here during the run.

Talk from Chris Dorley-Brown, curator, at 7pm. 

GRANICK'S EAST END JAN.18

Looking forward to flipping through this new book in 2018. Hoxton Mini Press has produced a new volume about the East-End but this time it goes back in time for 2 decades between the 60's and 80's. Why would I suggest this book which I haven't read yet? For the simple reason that this treasure trouvé has only come to light through the genius of Chris Dorley-Brown. I have had the opportunity to meet Chris recently and he told me how he has lived like an hermit for almost a year. The reason being that the Tower Hamlet Archives asked him early 2017 to dig through their untouched private donations. After careful considerations Chris decided to investigate closely some suitcases, or boxes, of slide films left aside. After weeks of scanning it appeared that a certain man called David Granick had been photographing methodically the East-end for its architectures and aura. He gave away his entire collection to the Council not having any children to pass them on.

After seeing some of his images on screen it is clear to me that the work of this man has to be diffused and shared today. Not only his rigorous discipline is baffling for its methodical mise-en-scene but also his interest in the most benign details. His eye is alert, analytic but sensitive too in the way the urban landscape baths. His compositions are sharp. His use of colour is subtle.

But the strangest thing of all is that the man who unearths such a treasure is a man who has been doing the same for more years maybe and who didn't know anything about Granick's. Even stranger is the fact that we could actually take the work of Granick for being Chris Dorley-Brown's!

Spooky! in a nice way...

Let's leave it here for now and grab a copy

https://www.hoxtonminipress.com/products/the-east-end-in-colour

GREENWICH PENINSULA part 2

Second and final day visiting the new Greenwich Peninsula on an early beautiful Spring day. I started my tour of the East side, or new developed section, by following the banks behind the Millennium Dome. The path looks more like a highway for cyclist and joggers and the walk is punctuated by diverse art installations. To photograph the O2 and few buildings under constructions are pretty pointless as you are too close to them. The "real" new village emerges after passing the Emirates cable cars terminal. Then follows a succession of hybrid construction with no real interest. Your attention is more drawn towards the mouth of the Thames Barrier where your gaze can be lost in minor delectable details as if observing some classical paintings.

I walked until the vast quarry and ready mix industrial area. The place is quite atmospheric and a real contrast to the new world elevating around it. I walked back towards the centre of the peninsula where more building sites are active. I tried to find relics or signs that would emphasise on the peculiar character of the peninsula but my search ended up fruitless. I continued my journey towards the centre where a vast car park follows a mediocre green and there I was back to the Tube.

The walk was definitely interesting but without surprises disappointingly. The Greenwich Peninsula is this new contemporary hub which forces itself to be attractive especially to the young generations. It is kind of peaceful, kind of central, kind of modern, kind of convenient, kind of arty, kind of high-tech, and so and so...Developers have tried to combine all sorts of attractive elements to invest into this ex-no man's land but the truth is that this patch hasn't had any real personality before, and we could say that they managed to transmit that feeling but with a lot of fuss.

The architecture observed is very shallow, typical of the standard recent post-recession. The blocks are very close to each other, the various styles proposed are really out of date and are to be understood as a continuity of the late 70's and 80's but only with new materials. There is this consistent and sick habit in trying to make our lives better by using a palette of 5 or 6 primary colours as details. This architecture is, again, generic and works hard at trying to hide its defect. It can be found anywhere else in the country and most especially is the neighbour areas of Stratford and Canning Town. Quite a few plots are still available and more is going to be built. The only green area will look meagre in this vast new complex where lives are to be lived in small indoors at high price.