River

.I started River in late 2020 and fielded it throughout 2021. River is about the river Thames, or rather, about the stretch of the river between East London and the sea.
This is a depiction of landscape, of an area that is not city nor countryside but something in between. As London grew, the area expanded, but it can be argued that it is not much different in its essence from what it was 300 years ago.
It is the opposite of Richmond, Windsor or Eton: albeit at places it has great beauty, the land is neglected and abused, and there’s a hint that the people who populate it are too.
Whilst the presence of people in the photographs is circumstantial and occasional, I believe that by depicting their world I am adding insight to their lives, which are in the lower echelons of society and sometimes right at its margins.
By extension, River it is about the edgelands of all rich cities and about those who don’t qualify to belong and dwell in their beyond.