Lauderdale Set – 2019
As you come out of The Barbican London Underground Station from a particular entrance, the first thing you’re greeted with is a crossroads with a plethora of odd painted lines on the road. Look up and there’s raised balcony sections holding larger walkways up and away from us normals and the traffic that busies its way around London. Unless you get to go into the smaller tower of function rooms above the station itself, then walk to look out of a window on the opposite side you would never realise that the Underground rails have been expertly hidden behind high walls as yet another mask on the city’s functions.
Once you’ve taken all that in, you notice the High Rise buildings that dominate your immediate space. They’re spread out enough to let light down, but the closed-in roads make their height deceptive. Right opposite is ‘Lauderdale’. I’ve no clue what the average bank balance of the people who live there might be. Analysing the base photographs of the entire building I could only make out one plant on one balcony. It’s foreboding, but each and every balcony is at least one life.
The smaller buildings either side have crept their way into the final image of this set. They were teeming with small plants, but again, is that affluence or retirement that keeps them so well kept?
~ Written March 2020
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Lauderdale A5 prints are currently available on Etsy. For any other sizes, frame or mount variations, please get in touch directly.