February 2020

February 2020
39
The old
East End
In the fourth of a series of 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
Preparing a new photography
exhibition about London’s East End
for my Wanstead gallery invariably
involves a lot of walking. Cold, dark, wet
nights are my preference as the light from
street lamps, shops and traffic bounces in
the rain and reflects on the pavements and
roads, filling the pictures with energy and
life, unlike daylight.
The other thing I can’t resist is an alleyway or a
street with a curious name; in this case, it was
Park Lane. The very name conjured up for me
mental images of grand hotels and luxurious
apartments overlooking London’s Hyde Park.
This particular Park Lane, however, is just
off Stratford High Street and is a wonderful
example of the old and the new.
As you can see from the photograph, at the
north end of this short road stands an old,
small, white-painted building now used as a
house of worship. Surrounded and dwarfed
by its modern neighbours, the photograph
shows a prime example of how change
continues. Like the Thames that flows through
it, the East End also changes continuously,
albeit at a slower pace than the river.
The Huguenots, Jewish and Asian families
have all passed through Spitalfields over
generations. When the East India, West India
and King George docks were working at their
frenzied height, ships from all over the world
were unloading passengers and cargo, adding
to the mix of nationalities and languages. Not
really surprising then that change continues,
although at a faster pace, with architecture
changing dramatically as well.
What I want to discover before they disappear
are the buildings, streets and alleyways our
parents and grandparents grew up in. There
must be many more places for me to find,
discover and photograph, so the search will
continue.
Geoff’s exhibition of East End photographs
runs until 1 March at Gallery 84 on
Nightingale Lane, Wanstead, E11 2EZ. For
more information, call 020 8530 1244 or
visit wnstd.com/gw
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