Release Issued by Museum of London:
1 February to 5 June 2006 - Museum in Docklands
Exploring the mysterious, watery world hidden beneath London’s bridges and quays, documentary photographer Crispin Hughes captures the unseen world between the tides – an empty, wild place in the heart of London. His strangely beautiful panoramas are on show in Unquiet Thames, an exhibition at the Museum in Docklands from 1 February to 5 June 2006. The 18 pictures, each over two metres wide and taking in 360º, capture the play of shadow and light, the massive drowned structures revealed by the ebbing tide and a sense of expectation and foreboding that the river carries with it.
Crispin Hughes says, ‘The Thames in central London has a seven metre tidal range and it is in the enclosed spaces flooded alternately with light and with water that I have concentrated my attention. Most of these places were not designed to be seen by the general public at all and are often an amalgam of very ancient timbers and modern steel and concrete. Thousands of people walk about above them every day not knowing that beneath their feet lurks this strange amphibious architecture.
‘I have sequenced the pictures to draw the viewer in from exteriors in which parts of central London are recognisable, to private rather feral interior spaces. While taking the pictures I was constantly aware of the tide rising around me. Many of the pictures have a blank screen or stage-like area at their centre as though a drama is about to be enacted. Returning after the rise and fall of the tide everything would be subtly re-arranged.
‘For decades Londoners turned their backs on the river as something finished with by trade and industry and no longer of any use. Recently it has been re-discovered by tourists, commuters and party boats using the new river services. Buildings are now constructed to face onto it rather than away from it, but looking out across the river we miss what is nearest to us.
‘Unlike the coal mines, the river cannot simply be turned into a theme park of its historical self. Only a few metres away from the City’s offices, the currents surge up and down. There is the ever-increasing danger of flooding and the river holds a darker influence in its continuing association with catastrophe, murder and suicide. The inter-tidal area is still a deserted, untamed place.’
David Spence, Director of the Museum in Docklands adds,
‘For hundreds of years the river Thames was London’s highway, connecting it to the wider world. Without it London would never have grown into the city it is today. Its economic importance is matched by its ability to inspire generations of artists and writers, from Canaletto to Dickens. Crispin’s work in Unquiet Thames fits very well with the Museum in Docklands as they both reflect a hidden yet fascinating portrait of the river that flows through our city.’
Entrance to the exhibition is free with a valid Museum entrance ticket £5 adults, £3 for concessions. NUS cardholders and under 16s are free. Tickets are valid for a year, so you can come back as many times as you like.
Museum in Docklands, West India Quay, London, E14 4AL
Open daily 10am – 6pm
For information call 0870 444 3856
Jubilee Line: Canary Wharf
DLR: West India Quay
For more information go to www.museumindocklands.org.uk
