The Gurning Gherkin
I wonder how many photographs of London have been taken since Camille Silvy* was exploring photography and the city in the 1860’s? Since those early images were created, photography has spread like a super efficient virus and every generation is captured exponentially more times than the one that came before. The facebook generation appear unable to break wind without recording the event. There must have been billions of pictures of London since Camille’s day and most of them were probably taken since the digital camera explosion of the late 1990’s.
As such, there are many wonderful images of London out there but its increasingly rare to be suprised by a new perspective on the city. I like this picture by Alex Holland because it does take me by surprise as it compares and contrasts an old and a new London icon
It not only eloquently captures one of those moments of juxtaposition that London throws at you on a regular basis but does so with a sly sense of humour. Whilst The Tower of London remains steadfast and in surprisingly good nick, the Gherkin seems to be gurning in the background like a drunk guest spoiling a wedding photo. I like it a lot.
The picture was taken by Alex Holland who like most London artists comes from somewhere else, in Alex’s place Yorkshire. He favours photographing coasts and capital cities and by the look of his website his love of capitals extends to letters as every word on the site is capitalised. You can see more of his work and buy Alex Holland artwork here.
* There is an exhibition of Camille Silvy’s photographs at the National Portrait Gallery until October 24th 2010. I strongly recommend it for anybody with even a passing interest in the past, photography or people. Its fascinating to see both the photographer and the subjects coming to grips with the new medium 150 years ago.
