murals

Elephant and Castle in London is notorious with city dwellers for its rundown shopping centre and existence as a major road artery just south of the River Thames.

Beneath the busy traffic system lies a network of subways, allowing pedestrians to safely negotiate their way from one side of Elephant to another.

It’s adorned with cheerful, vibrant murals – official art unlike the Leake Street graffiti tunnel – but is a confusing maze to negotiate. I spent my first week in London staying locally, and often went round in circles. At night-time, it can feel a little intimidating.

For this shoot I wanted to get lost to cover every corner of the system and pass as many fellow pedestrians as possible. On my way out, I followed the signs to the Tube station – now that seemed like the longest walk…

Click first image to launch the gallery

The city of Derry (sometimes referred to as Londonderry) in Northern Ireland is a far-flung corner of the United Kingdom, very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. It has endured a troubled recent history, which you can still see today in its stark political murals. The cluster painted on the walls of the city’s Bogside area document Irish nationalism and its struggles.

The famous “You are now entering Free Derry” slogan is on the surviving end wall of a house and has been painted dozens of times. It was even turned pink for a recent gay pride.

Others feature nationalist politician Bernadette Devlin and even Che Guevara complete with his Irish birth surname Lynch. While this wall art is now a tourist attraction, its careful preservation reflects a difficult history which is really not so far away.