I can’t remember how I first came across Norman Foster’s More London complex but it’s been a friend ever since I did. Time and again, I find inspiration there – from the reflections, the hard lines, the curves and so much more. It’s a beautiful place.
In a recent Guardian article, Simon Jenkins described the place as ‘frigid’. Putting to one side his occasional Grumpy Old Man qualities, I like Simon’s work but to accuse More London of lacking imaginative qualities (the definition I assume he’s calling upon) is tripe. More London is a remarkable complex of buildings that attract, tease, suggest and then reveal their true glory. And they lend themselves to photographers of all styles. For me it’s a ministract paradise but for Giles McGarry, for example, it’s a venue for gorgeous, monochrome long exposure shots.
There are a other places that inspire me in the same way as More London does. It could be Talkin Tarn in Cumbria, just a mile or so from my parents’ place, or Earlswood lakes, over the road from whe I’m writing this. Overseas, it could be Berlin, the place where I met some of my best friends on the planet, or Venice, the city of my dreams…
But if there’s one that calls out to me more than any, it’s Birling Gap on England’s south coast. No ministract buildings there, wrapped in coats made of hard lines. No glass to reflect patterns of geometric intrigue. No diagonals crying out to be displayed within a square frame. There’s hardly even a chance for an abstract. No, there are none of these. But it even so – perhaps because of this – it’s the place above all others that speaks to me.
As for the places I hope will one day become the new old favourites? Right now Sicily sits on the top of the list ever since I saw the BBC’s exquisite Sicily Unpacked series, with art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon and chef Georgio Locatelli.
What about you? What or where are your old favourites and what’s next on the list?
+++
It’s almost six months since my last blog post. I’ve no idea why, but there you go and here I am again.
One Comment
I think More London can be called anything but frigid. Living in a country where modern architecture has been frozen from the end of World War Two to the beginning of the new century, I can’t help getting excited every time I see what architects are allowed to do in places more civilized than mine. Visiting London is a visually hot experience to me, and strolling through More London gets me even more excited.
Thanks to your help and suggestions I could take awesome photographs there last year, and I’m sure I will again next time I’ll be in your wonderful city.
I must thank you also for letting me know Giles McGarry’s fascinating works.
Welcome back, Tom.