A red double-decker bus crossing Westminster Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, a mounted soldier on Horse Guards’ Parade; you know the sort of thing. The capital as the place where your mum thinks you’re living.
Now, if you want to break the truth to her gently, I have an idea for the perfect Christmas present to send home.
Syl Ojalla’s new photography book – Brick Lane People – is pretty much guaranteed to rock her without shocking her.
It’s a wonderful book billed as “documenting the unique and diverse people of Brick Lane” and it more than lives up to its billing.
Syl says of the idea behind the book, “One of the purposes is to break down the idea that we all have to look, live and behave the same. The book is a celebration of differences and the underlying message that we’re all different and that’s good. For me, despite the difficult past, Brick Lane represents a good role model of how so many different backgrounds can live and work together and in an age where we have so much intolerance in society (immigration, religion, race, etc) it would be good to see more acceptance of diversity.”
Every few pages he interrupts the flow of whole page pictures with a well chosen quote to emphasise his theme.
You travellers might like Mahatma Gandhi’s, “I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.”
My favourite is from Mother Teresa. “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” And, to end with, the opening lines of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.
Do I have a criticism. Yes I do.
I want to know, who is the masked barber who appears to have one eye? And the pretty girl with the rose tattoo? And the woman in the white fur coat wearing a headband that says ‘love’? And the old guy sporting a blue cable knit jumper with a daffodil in his buttonhole? And the lass with the green hair reading the graffiti that says, “we don’t need no thought control.”
But that’s the point isn’t it? Wanting to know them.
The book is available from Amazon but I reckon Syl might prefer it if you popped down to Brick Lane Bookshop.
A red double-decker bus crossing Westminster Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, a mounted soldier on Horse Guards’ Parade; you know the sort of thing. The capital as the place where your mum thinks you’re living.
Now, if you want to break the truth to her gently, I have an idea for the perfect Christmas present to send home.
Syl Ojalla’s new photography book – Brick Lane People – is pretty much guaranteed to rock her without shocking her.
It’s a wonderful book billed as “documenting the unique and diverse people of Brick Lane” and it more than lives up to its billing.
Syl says of the idea behind the book, “One of the purposes is to breakdown the idea we all have to look, live, and behave the same. The book is a celebration of differences and the underlying message that we’re all different and that’s good. For me, despite the difficult past Brick Lane represents a good role model of how so many different backgrounds can live and work together and in an age where we have so much intolerance in society (immigration, religion, race, etc) it would be good to see more acceptance of diversity.”
Every few pages he interrupts the flow of whole page pictures with a well chosen quote to emphasise his theme.
You travellers might like Mahatmas Gandhi’s “I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.”
My favourite is from Mother Teresa. “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” And, to end with, the opening lines of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.
Do I have a criticism. Yes I do.
I want to know, who is the masked barber who appears to have one eye? And the pretty girl with the rose tattoo? And the woman in the white fur coat wearing a headband that says ‘love’? And the old guy sporting blue cable knit jumper with a daffodil in his buttonhole? And the lass with the green hair reading the graffiti that says, “we don’t need no thought control.”
But that’s the point isn’t it? Wanting to know them.
The book is currently available from Amazon but I reckon Syl might prefer it if you popped down to Brick Lane Bookshop.
