Portrait of Hackney

by Zed Nelson

'A Portrait of Hackney' is an intimate look at the ever-changing face of Hackney: the complexity, the contradictions, the clash of cultures. Portraits and landscapes are set against overheard snippets of conversations from the area.

Zed Nelson has lived his whole life in Hackney - it was here he learnt to ride a bike, took his first drugs and lost his virginity. When he was young this was a place to get away from but now he has fallen back in love with the area.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although born in nearby Shoreditch, my late wife Linda was a Hackney schoolgirl, attending Haggerston Girls School - Haggerston Park is mentioned in the book - so when I first met her I had a close up look at this area of east London. And I must confess it was quite an eye-opener. It was then, that being the mid-1960s, not the more prestige and quite desirable living place that it appears to be today. Having said that, photographer Zed Nelson does say in his introduction, 'To try and make sense of the place seems futile. Hackney is a socially, ethically diverse melee. It has violence, beauty, wildlife, concrete wastelands, poverty and affluence jumbled together, all vying for space. It is tattered and fractured but very alive.'

And the colourful photographs (some of which are quite interesting, others very much not so) in 'A Portrait of Hackney' support that view that the author has expressed. There are a number of disparate characters portrayed and the scenery varies considerably between chic coffee shops and impoverished wasteland.

I am not so sure I would have enjoyed the book quite so much if I had not had that eye-opening experience of the area all those years ago. Having said that, Zed Nelson, is a talented and avant-garde photographer.

[Cams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the three books in the series so far, I feel this is the weakest. I'm trying not to judge too harshly, having looked at it only a couple of times, but I just don't find the shots to be all that interesting. For example, the most likely stand-out shot of the book is the one with the couple kissing in the boat on the algae-covered canal gas a big shadow across the bottom which sops the image for me.

The first book in the series moved me, and the second one tickled me. The third one I'm struggling to come up with anything.