November/December 2019

30 South Woodford Village Gazette
The old
East End
In the first of two articles, local photographer
Geoff Wilkinson discusses his new exhibition – entitled
‘Quick! Before it goes’ – depicting London’s East End,
an area which resonates with many residents here
Growing up in London’s
East End was a
fascinating experience
for a young boy. In the 1950s,
bomb damage from the war
was still very much evident.
Living mostly in Stratford, I
remember the area just to the
right of the old Angel Lane
street market which had been
completely flattened. No
houses or buildings remained;
it was just a playground or
used for parking vans and cars,
such as there were. Perhaps it
is the memories of this loss of
buildings and architecture that
has made me so determined to
photograph what is left of the
old East End.
Geoffrey Wilkinson
Photography at
Eightyfour
When I opened my Whitechapel
exhibition last year at the
gallery, it was interesting to
see the various reactions of
the visitors when they saw
the photographs. Many of my
generation were delighted to
see pictures of streets where
they had grown up and played
or perhaps the buildings where
their grandparents had lived.
My daughter’s generation,
mainly young professionals,
reminisced about nights out at
bars and restaurants and living in
fashionable flats in Whitechapel
or Hoxton. For many of these
visitors now living in Wanstead,
Woodford and the surrounding
areas, the common theme,
regardless of generation, was
the sadness of the familiar places
disappearing.
It was the memories shared
with me and the emotions the
photographs evoked in people
that persuaded me to continue
on this theme, to capture a wider
area of the East End, including
Hackney, Bethnal Green (as
shown here), Mile End, Bow and
much, much more.
Geoff’s exhibition of East End photographs opens on 24 November
and runs until 1 March at Gallery 84, Nightingale Lane, Wanstead.
For more information, 020 8530 1244 or visit swvg.co.uk/gw
interested in photography…
we run workshops for all levels from
beginner upwards…
1-to-1 tuition, studio workshops, location
workshops, food photography,
quality ebay photography,
photopgraphy walks, night workshops
we can tailor a workshop to fit your needs…
pop in and have a chat.
84 Nightingale Lane, Wanstead, E11 2EZ
t: 0208 530 1244 m: 07974 662881
www.geoffwilkinsonphotography.co.uk
e: gtw@dircon.co.uk