"A fabulous tribute to a constantly ruined and renewed area of London that has found its ideal chronicler. Light and dust, cloud and fire, tower block and underpass: stoic compositions give the dignity of permanence to a zone of perpetual transition. You can taste it, breathe it. Walk it. And come to believe that the experience is somehow richer and riper than the real thing." (Iain Sinclair)

Chris Dorley Brown has documented London's East End all his life. Today, we are delighted to present this collection in a retrospective book - the photographer's first monograph.

Chris Dorley Brown is a self-taught British documentary photographer, based in London's East End. His cultural education was formed in East London in the late 1970s, against a backdrop of highly polarized political conflict and change.

The photographs presented in this book - almost 100 - were taken between 1984 and 2023. The journey through the book is like taking a stroll: starting on the banks of the Thames, we discover the vernacular architecture of the 1980s; their demolition a few years later; followed by more recent architecture. We follow the transformations brought about by construction for the Olympic Games; then, the deserted streets during lockdown; ending on the banks of the Thames, almost at its mouth. One-offs, here and there, intersperse these main themes.

Texts and leaflets are included in the book. The author recounts his career with a certain ease: the depictions are very visual, and anecdotes are related side-by-side with his most profound thoughts.

For Chris Dorley Brown, saudade is the word that best sums up this work, a story that Native Americans taled and sang to each other as they traveled.