FISH ISLAND / MARCH 2021

I am returning to the same spot where I left it two years ago. And so much has changed. It is actually hard to take it in somehow. You knew this area would become the epitome of change eventually and the signs of change have been popping out in a very subtle manner since I last visited it. But then what has happened in those 2 years is just incredible and there is a lot more coming. When I first visited this area in the late 90's you would call it the Lea Valley and most specifically Hackney Wick if you referred to the flea market. The industrial area would be known as Fish Island. Today the main residential area below the Hertford Union Canal is called Fish Island Village. But the whole area is also called Wicked for the alternative scene I presume. The area has taken off and is already heaving with people in March in Covid times. I can't imagine what it is going to be like this Summer! 

I have tried to summarise the changes I have experienced in the last 15 odd years with a map. BLUE is for the new developments ORANGE is for new lands acquired for more developments CORAL is for new developments built after the Olympic Games YELLOW is for the potential of later developments BLUE DOTS are for new Hub created at the time of Olympic Games RED DOTS are for new Hubs PINK ARCS are for new pedestrians bridges (Bare in mind that this map is a personal interpretation)

Coming back to Hackney Wick and witnessing that change makes me realised that the future I anticipated more than 10 years ago is almost there. The gentrification has taken this whole area in the 21st century and made it look like any other suburban landscape. Looking back at my first series "Arteries of a new East" and comparing it with the new context, it is evident that London has finally linked with or absorbed Stratford. The East End is no more wild and unexpected landscape, it has been tamed. The new towers of the City are looking at Fish Island Village via the canal as neighbours.

 

NEW BLOG, FINAL STRETCH - 11/3/21

I am back, and sorry for that long break! Looking at the previous blog I created it seems like it has been 18 months since my last post. The project has been left aside for some time for various reasons. Firstly, after our last show at the Cass School I felt a bit deflated and needed to step back from the project both as a curator and photographer. I am still very proud of the show though. I then focused my attention a bit more towards the commercial work as a little boy called Viggo came into our lives. And then Covid-19 struck and suddenly the very little time I had for my projects vanished. As a consequence the continuum has turned into a vacuum! Now is the time to reignite the project as the kids are back to school. This break has also been somehow beneficial as it has let the urban landscape evolve without me having to photograph it. What I mean is that I needed a break from that visual routine in order to come back stronger. What I noticed though whilst commuting around is that some parts of the East End haven't changed at all whereas others have drastically. So this time I will investigate only in some very specific areas instead of trying to roam in every corner of the East End. I am giving myself until the end of Spring 2022 in order to finish the project as a whole. Which could be the perfect opportunity to produce something special in order to celebrate a decade since the London Olympics. But enough of that, first I am going to get my gear ready, get my shoes and go out there.

Note: I am no expert in digital technology and I wish I could have kept feeding my first blog created 11 years ago. Sadly it seems impossible to access it and consequently I had to create this new one.

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