Unquiet Thames photography exhibition
26 January 2006
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 adult, £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
Jubilee Line: Canary Wharf
DLR: West India Quay
For information call 0870 444 3856.
Download the Museum in Docklands Unquiet Thames press pack (PDF 1.5mb)
Media enquiries:
Clea Relly
tel: 020 7814 5503
email: crelly@museumoflondon.org.uk
Tim Morley
tel: 020 7814 5607
email: tmorley@museumoflondon.org.uk
Notes to editors
- Crispin Hughes is a freelance photographer, a member of Panos Pictures and was one of the founding directors of Photofusion. As well as working extensively across Africa covering social and political issues, he has for many years exhibited work about London using large format cameras. Invisible City at the Photographers Gallery, Assured Tenants at the Candid Gallery and Pressure Underground at Photofusion have all explored hidden aspects of the Capital. Unquiet Thames uses high-resolution digital technology to continue this work.
- Museum in Docklands is housed in a converted Georgian warehouse on West India Quay, next to Canary Wharf. Its displays explore London's connections with the rest of the world through the 2000 year history of the river, port and its people. Across four floors of interactive displays the Museum’s unique collection takes you on a journey through stories of the Thames and surrounding areas from Roman settlement to 21st century urban regeneration. A changing programme of activities caters for visitors of all ages and includes gallery tours, storytelling, drama, talks by history experts, films and guided walks through Docklands. The Museum opened in 2003 and is a short walk along West India Quay from the Docklands Light Railway station or Canary Wharf Jubilee Line tube station. For more information go to www.museumindocklands.org.uk or call 0870 444 3857.
- Crispin Hughes explains how he took the pictures: ‘Each panoramic photograph is created by stitching together eight separate digital images. These were shot on a digital SLR camera fitted with a 17mm lens. The camera was mounted on a tripod head that allows it to be rotated precisely around its optical axis to produce correct alignment of the images. The resulting pictures were then assembled using readily available panorama software. The 2.38m wide prints were made by Sky Imaging on a Light Jet 430 printer which uses three coloured lasers to create a photographic print from a digital file.’
- Soundtrack for the exhibition: The Thames foreshore is literally unquiet. Beneath jetties the wakes of boats boom and echo among discarded ironwork, further downstream thousands of tiny fragments of eroded glass tinkle delicately in the open. Walking Pictures sampled the sounds from many of the photographed sites to create an evocative soundtrack for the exhibition. A 4-minute MP3 track can be downloaded from www.museumindocklands.org.uk.