Tag: London
-
Leap of Faith
Thirty-five years ago, Chris Boot and I were commissioned by The Photographers’ Gallery to contribute a piece for their group show ‘The Invisible City’. With our model, Mark Linnington, we created a narrative tableaux of nine images. The leap of faith of one imaginary character, photographed in the remains of derelict London churches. Shot on…
-
Insure Our Survival
In February 2024 Extinction Rebellion spent three days targeting fossil fuel insurers in the City of London. Shortly after this, major insurers Zurich pulled out of insuring new oil and gas. In late October 2024 XR returned to the City of London for another three themed days. Insurance is the Achilles heel of the global…
-
Opportunity Area
I’ve recently bought two second-hand tilt-shift lenses, designed for architectural photography. Mechanically shifting the lens’s optics upwards allows me to photograph tall buildings without distortion. The technique dates back to the nineteenth century, but the current frenzy of high rise building in my local area makes it increasingly useful; allowing me to contrast the human…
-
Insure Our Future
Why are these people standing in the window of Talbot AIG insurance in the City of London? New fossil fuel projects need three things: permits, money and insurance. Without insurance, most new fossil fuel projects cannot go ahead, and existing ones must close. This makes insurance the Achilles heel of the fossil fuel industry. Fossil…
-
Bonnington Square
Exhibition 1986 Bonnington Square in Vauxhall, south London, was part of an estate of houses built in the 1870s to house railway workers. It became famous in the 1980s when all the houses in it, vacant and awaiting demolition, were squatted. In the late 1970s, the Square was compulsorily purchased by the Greater London Council…
-
Onlookers
At the heart of most environmental protests are committed activists, full of purpose and solidarity. Around the periphery, where disruption meets daily life, a kind of crust or scab forms. Spectators, police and security people, aggressive drivers, curious children with parents, and those who resolutely ignore the activists, all swirl around the edge. If they…
-
‘The Right of Juries’
15th May 2023. Outside Inner London Crown Court. This doesn’t look dramatic, but Dr Juliette Brown, a 52-year-old consultant Psychiatrist, seen here, is risking arrest and imprisonment for contempt of court. Before sitting silently on the side of the pavement for an hour she said: “We’re ordinary people, worried about our safety, security, health, the…
-
No Step
I last flew in 2019, a night flight from LA to London. While the passengers slept or dozed in front of in-flight movies, I slid a window blind up and peered out. A few metres from my face, two huge jet engines were hammering out burning hot CO2, Nitrous Oxide and a cocktail of other…
-
Extinction Rebellion April 2022
“Climate activists are sometimes portrayed as dangerous radicals. The truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing production of fossil fuels. Investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure is moral and economic madness.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, April 4, 2022
-
Protection
‘Fucking mask wearers’ swore the elderly gent as he and his wife looked around the farm shop tea room. He meant me, and I’d have taken it more seriously, if moments before he hadn’t sworn at everybody for parking their cars incorrectly. Still, it was an interesting pairing: authoritarian and pseudo-libertarian in one go. Nobody…
-
Stranded Assets
Since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, HSBC has poured over $110bn into fossil fuel firms and projects. Valuations of fossil fuel companies include the oil, gas & coal resources they’ve claimed for future exploitation. To comply with the Paris Agreement, most of these must stay in the ground; Mark Carney (former…
-
Stop
From 21st December 2020 to 29th March 2021, London came under Tier 4 ‘Stay at Home’ Covid restrictions. We were only allowed out for work or exercise. Non-essential shops and social spaces closed, although ‘one person [was] permitted to meet with one other person in an outside public space’. Our horizons narrowed, and time felt…