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I started this photographic project at Lambeth North Tube station which, according to some, is the location for Go on the London Monopoly board! I had expected to re-visit the tube station, to pass Go and to end the project where it had started. However, when I was planning my final shooting trip I saw that the tube station was closed for refurbishment. So, instead of Lambeth North I concentrated on the £200 you get for passing Go. My final image is a photograph of what looks like about £200 in various currencies. It was taken in Tate Modern and is a donation point for visitors. Over the past year I have visited the Tate on many occasions and decided on my last visit to join as a member. So, if anyone fancies a visit just let me know and I will be happy to get you in! I hope you have enjoyed these photographs and stay tuned for further updates as I decide what to do with the images. p.s. One of my photography friends asked me which were my favourite images from the project. If you would like to see please click here. If you have any comments or questions, I would love to hear from you. Thanks for getting this far. . . Peter 
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The last main location for my monopoly project was Mayfair. I had already visited the east and west boundaries of the area in previous posts (Bond Street and Park Lane) so now I wanted to explore the central area. All three of the images came from Berkeley Square and Davies Street, which leads north from the square. I really enjoyed this area, up-market excess seemed the order for the day. So, where should you go for your ancient art, your modern art or your latest couture frock? Simply pop along to David Aaron, Phillips Auction House or Vivienne Westwood in Mayfair. I loved the area, the mad excess of it all. Hope you like it too!   
The images for super tax all came from the Mayfair area of London, which is flanked to the west by my previous location, Park Lane. I thought for a while about how to represent super tax. In the end it came down to two ideas; the first that if you are rich enough (or powerful enough) then tax of any kind doesn't seem to be a problem, and the second that in the end for the rest of us, along with death our taxes are inevitable. So super tax doesn't really seem to exist anymore... unless you count the congestion charge, fuel duty, insurance premium tax, vat etc. But back to photography. My images represent the super rich with the Bentley and Rolls Royce car multiple exposure, the super powerful by way of Starbucks and the rest of us with the tax paying barista and the certainty of death in the skull. Hope you like them as much as I enjoyed taking them!    The walk back to the west end from Liverpool Street Station was a nice enough stroll. There was a little sun but, it's still January, and it was cold. I walked west from the station and then doglegged to the left so that I could walk through Finsbury Circus. Many years ago I would have lunch here when I worked locally in the late 70's and the sight of grass was welcome. I continued west walking through the Barbican Centre (an oasis of calm in the city). Then it was onto Charterhouse Street passing Smithfield meat market and stealing a glimpse of Bart's hospital (where I ran the doctors bar in the Robin Brook centre in the early 80's). I continued up to Holborn and just kept walking west, through New Oxford Street and then Oxford Street and finally to Marble Arch and the start of Park Lane to the south. I decided to walk down the central reservation of Park Lane. The street is like a 6 lane super-highway with houses and hotels on the east and Hyde Park to the west. It's busy, but by walking down the central reservation I got many good views and took a lot of pictures. I was going to focus on the Animals in war memorial as it was a moving tribute. However, further south I came across the "Moving Forward" sculpture by Jill Berelowitz, a collection of nine beautiful figures mounted on low stone plinths. The reflections from these were just my cup of tea and I hope you like them too. I recommend that you go and see them yourself, or visit her on the web. On one of the plinths is a poem by Jody Isaacs. I have been unable to find a link to her, or the poem, so have been unable to publish a link here.    There have been plenty of opportunities to take a chance on this project. Looking back at the image I have I thought these three were good illustrations. The first was of the Playboy Club Casino where I think there could be a large chance of making a big loss on the roulette wheel if I were to play. The second is of a lottery ticket, where I guess there is a small chance of winning big. This particular one was in a news agents in Bond Street tube station and as it was Monopoly branded I just had to take the picture! Sadly I didn't win. The final image is of a picture being hung at the John Currin exhibition at Sadie Coles gallery in Mayfair. I think there is little chance of the guy dropping this (as Jarvis Cocker looks on).    My walk from Bond Street to Liverpool Street Station was a long one. I chose the scenic route from the Piccadilly end of Bond Street through Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square then down to the Strand. It was then a pretty straight walk down the Strand, along Fleet Street (I feel I have done this a few too many times now!) then past St. Pauls Cathedral onto Cannon Street and up to Bank on Queen Victoria Street. From Bank it's a short(ish) hike up Threadneedle Street, past the Bank of England, then cut north onto Old Broad Street and keep going until you hit Liverpool Street Station. It was late by the time I got there and most of the commuters gone home, so I ended up shooting two lost souls and a single found couple. The first two images were of individuals, just waiting and watching (the trains and their phone). These images felt a little sad, but the final image of the couple (locked in an embrace) raised my spirits. My next location (after Chance) will be Park Lane, that's another long walk from here, so I will save that for another day, when I hope the weather may be a little less dull!    <Back to Community Chest : See all posts : On to Liverpool Street Stn.> Even after Christmas, Bond Street was buzzing! My last shoots had been taken at Soho Square, so it was a pleasant evening walk down through Soho to Piccadilly Circus and the back along Piccadilly to the beginning of (Old) Bond Street. The two streets, Old and New Bond Street, run from Piccadilly up to Oxford Street and have some of the glitziest shops in the West End (and more security guards than you want to be dealing with). At first you don't notice them, but then as you get out your camera and start shooting it becomes very obvious how many there are. The ones in the shops start looking out at you and using their radios and then you become aware of large men (with hearing aids?) out on the street taking a subtle interest in you. So, I took their pictures too and was happy to let them know that I realised who they were. I guess they have a job to do too and as they didn't didn't want to engage directly with me, I was happy to continue shooting. A little further up the street I saw two full size tanks driving down Old Bond Street. It was just a tourist activity, but one I feel sure the West End of London could do without! In the end the images I chose this week were of shop fronts without any obvious security... A busy street with rubbish put out for collection, a silhouette of a lady walking past a great shop front and a man looking at a picture in another shop window. I must admit that I liked Bond Street. It had some odd people and some expensive shops but it was vibrent and lively, even on a cold January evening.    <Back to Oxford Street : View all monopoly posts : On To Bond Street> At the end of my Oxford Street walk I was thinking about the next challenge of Community Chest. At the time I was watching the world go by at Oxford Circus and was being blasted by the words of the Lord coming out of a small speaker next to this preacher standing above the tube station stairs. The words on the plackard were hard to read as they were covered in plastic, but the message was clear... 'It's Jesus or Hell'. I guess it pays to get to the point and I would like to thank the preacher for giving me one of my favourite images of this project. Later I found myself back in Soho Square, my idea was to shoot the Radha Krishna Temple, but in the end the two street cleaners, helping tourist find their way, was a more engaging image of community. My final image was of Centrepoint Tower at the junction of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. This was one of the first tower blocks in London and has remained empty for much of it's life. At one time it was taken over to house the homeless and inspired the Centrepoint charity, which still promotes help for the homeless. So in a way the empty tower has inspired a community. Have a good new year!    <Back to Regent Street : All Monopoly posts : On to Community Chest> Having walked the length of Regent Street all the way from Pall Mall up to Portland Place (in signt of the BBC Broadcasting Centre) it was an easy walk back south to Oxford Circus. I went west along Oxford Street first taking in all that the busy street had to offer. I was taken by the beauty that was just a few feet above the madness of last minute shopping at street level. The old clock above Selfridges was my first image of the night closely followed the leaves on a tree by the side of the road. By the time I made it back to Oxford Circus I was focussing back at street level. The multiple exposure image is a simple mix of a shopper (walking down the central pavement toward Oxford Circus from the east) and a few general shots of lights and decorations in the area. I also shot my Community Chest images in the area, but more of thos next week. Happy Christmas!    <Back to Go To Jail : See All Monopoly posts : On to Oxford Street> I started my journey this week from New Scotland Yard, where last weeks visit had ended. It was a good walk through the pre-Christmas crowds. I walked back to Birdcage Walk and then through St. James Park, over the Mall, up Marlborough Road and then North to Picadilly, then East to the bottom of Regent Street. It was the just 10 days before Christmas everything was busy. As I walked north up Regent Street the light was fading giving the multiple exposure image an interesting feel. As I walked up the middle part of the Regent Street (north from Piccadilly Circus) it was really pretty dark but it gave an interesting feel for both the man standing in the passing bus and the people waiting to cross at Oxford Circus. I really like these three images, which I hope give you a good feeling of how attractive and busy the west end is at Christmas time.    <Back to Piccadilly : All Monopoly posts : On to Regent Street> The 1st two Go To Jail images were shot on the same day as the Piccadilly images. The one of the two policeman was taken in Leicester Square and the flag reflection was from New Scotland Yard. The New Scotland Yard building was being decomissioned as the Police have now moved on. It had been a nice walk from Piccadilly, through Green Park, past Buckingham Palace and then cutting through the small roads off Birdcage Walk down to Broadway where New Scotland Yard is (was?). The third image is a composite from Pentonville Prison, taken earlier on my project. My next location will be Regent Street, so after a busy day, I called it a day and will return to my journey next week.    < Back to Water Works : All Monopoly posts : On to Go To Jail> After the lows of Coventry Street come the highs of Piccadilly, just a short walk through Piccadilly Circus and into Piccadilly as I continue to head west. I stopped at Caffe Nero, opposite Waterstones the largest bookshop in europe. After a cup of tea I continued exploring Piccadilly. The Waterstones store is a big shop and I could happily spend most of the day in there, but I had to get on. Piccadilly is a good mix of money (The Ritz Hotel), culture (Royal Academy), popular culture (the Hard Rock Cafe) and green space (Green Park). As you pass through the first half there are arcades and up market shops (and the beginning of Bond Street) so after a good long walk I was ready for a sit down in Green Park to watch the world go by. My images today are of the lights in Princes Academy and the Ritz Hotel and a neon sign from the Hard Rock Cafe. Hope you like them...    This week we move onto Water Works. Like Community Chest and Chance, I have chosen this to be a pretty loose location. I have chosen three images from my various parts of London I have visited over the weeks. The "No Entry" image came from Trafalgar Square. It seems to me that no one in their right mind would enter the water here, but if they are going to I doubt this sign will be enough to keep them out! The second image is a drain cover on Coventry Street and the final image is of the south bank of the River Thames just by the Millennium Bridge (see map below) by Shakespeare's Globe and Tate Modern. It is easy to get down to the river at this point an when it is warmer the beach can look quite inviting.    As you walk west from Leicester Square towards Piccadilly Circus your pretty quickly come across Coventry Street. While I don't want to bad moth London, I really feel that this small road the best of the worst of tourist traps. There are tat shops, money change booths, clubs, unispiring food outlets and tourist traps, left, right and centre. Photographically there are some interesting things, but if it were not for this blog, I would simply have walked on to Piccadilly and pretended I didn't know where Coventry Street was! Harsh? Probably, but I've seen alot of street in the past few months and this was the first that I wished had been left off the monopoly board. So, I hope you like the images and I look forward to moving on to the more interesting parts of London in the weeks ahead.    |
peter merryPhotographing London, Surrey and beyond. From the top of the Shard to the end of the garden. . . Categories
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