urban landscapes

Mike Seaborne:


Introduction

London Landscapes
The Square Mile
Housing
High Street London
The North London Line
Facades

 

 
 

mike seaborne

 

LONDON'S LANDSCAPE

A large industrial city like London presents a complex man-made landscape in which generations of social, domestic and industrial forces have shaped the environment, each leaving its mark and adding to the complex patina. London's particular complexity arises not only from its size but also from an absence of central planning and from an historically diverse economy. Like many other photographers I have thought how I might try to capture the essence of London in a few images only to realise that such an ambition is impossible to fulfill. Instead, we are compelled either to focus on a particular location or subject, or to generate coherance by imposing a particular representational style. I have attempted both these approaches in my work.

The photographs featured on this site are divided into three groups:

London Landscapes is an ongoing project defined not by location or by subject- matter but by an attempt to find meaningful (to me) relationships in the urban chaos. It is therefore as much about my concerns as a picture-maker as it is about documenting London.

In The Square Mile I have tried to convey the sense that even in a relatively small and well-defined area of London there is still a remarkable degree of diversity and incoherence. This is particularly true in terms of the jumble of building styles and the contemporary uses to which older (and sometimes very old) buildings have been put.

My project on Housing has, to date, concentrated exclusively on public and social housing, mainly in the inner city, and has been undertaken within a documentary context to provide pictures for an exhibition on the subject. Again diversity is a keynote, with subjects ranging from philanthropic housing built in the 19th century to the latest in 'green' house-building technology. My photographic approach has to a large extent been determined by the need to illustrate particular features such as architectural style and states of repair.

Facades looks at soon to be transformed street frontages in London's inner-city.

High Street London is a series of black & white panoramic photographs taken from the top of double-decker buses as they make there way along some of London’s many and varied high streets

The North London Line is a series of landscape photographs aimed at capturing something of the individuality and flavour of the different places the line passes through as it runs around the north of London from Richmond in the west to North Woolwich to the east of the city.

Mike Seaborne's website


 

 

 

 



Untitled - Mike Seaborne