Joao Sarmento Photo Station

This set of images marks the beginning of the end, which led to a voluntary exile from photography for 14 years. The project was to photograph the city of London. I tried several approaches first, and then settled for this panoramic view, often concentrating upon detail.

The pictures betray its time: the time when conservative policies had a visible and palpable impact on contemporary Britain. This project shows the city as a journey of lone individuals going towards hubs of economic activity. It is, in a sense an alien place. A place where the rest of us felt (and maybe still feel) detached from, and yet are affected by.

It is also a place where its landscape is in constant mutation.
Although I like this project now, I also got tired of the formulas that photography provided me with, particularly with documentary genre. I was coming to a point of rupture with convention and eventually with photographic representation. To see what I mean, I recommend you see the City colour portfolio.