While I was doing some research the other day on the Hackney area I came across this project by Zed Nelson - Hackney - A tale of two cities. He focuses on the area of Hackney which he describes as run down and dilapidated and its close proximity to the wealthy City of London. It is an interesting concept but it is one I feel has been done a lot in relation to other cities.
His images focus a lot on wealth/affluence in one of the poorest boroughs in London. I like his portraits of the colourful people that live there that make Hackney. It is one of the most striking things I found about this place - the colours you see everywhere from the green open spaces to the shop fronts and the many markets in the neighbourhood.
However, he also touches on the levels of crime and gang culture in the borough. His image of a scene of a shooting in Hoxton Street is very real for me. For about a year I used to walk past the takeaway where a young girl was shot on my way to and from work. The street was always pretty quiet bar the odd drunk so this was a huge shock to me.
Touching on gang culture his image of three menacing gang members in front of an expensive house shows both the worst and best sides of Hackney. It is still hard to make sense of the affluence in such a run down and poverty stricken area of London.
I like the way in which he embraced the green areas in Hackney. The river Lea runs through the borough and there you can see some of the ugliest sites but with it some of the most beautiful like in his image of the swan in her nest.
This set of images has given me some food for thought in relation to my next assignment. I like the way in which he shows us Hackney through his eyes. My view of the place will be very different from his but I will set out to explore similar themes like the diversity in the area and the beauty to be found in the ugliness around the place. There is a beauty in the neon signs and bright colours and more importantly the people that live there.
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