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Canal

Photograph
Place of origin

Gary Goldberg is a documentary photographer based in Texas. Every summer between 2009 and 2012, Goldberg made many visits to Stratford, East London, to document the process of urban renewal taking place alongside the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. He returned to photograph the same views at intervals over the course of four years in order to reveal the ‘before and after’ physical and social transformation of the environment. For the most part, the improvements are evident, as once-desolate industrial sites become landscaped destinations. Yet, Goldberg’s photographs also capture a fleeting sense of what local character may have been lost in the area’s redevelopment.

Goldberg’s project also follows in the footsteps of many other photographers held within the V&A Collection who have documented the changing faces of London for over a century. His work speaks directly to Dixon & Boole’s and William Strudwick’s records of 19th century streets, pubs and slums, as well as Bill Brandt, Roger Mayne and many others throughout the twentieth century. The transformation of Hackney Wick has also been a popular subject for more recent artists such as Stephen Gill, whose depictions of the area involve ephemera found along the canal.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCanal (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Photograph by Gary Goldberg, 'Canal' from the series 'Olympics', inkjet print, 2012
Physical description
Colour photograph depicting a canal with clear water. There is a red brick building to the right and the sides of the canal are neat greenery. The canal path is covered in new gravel.
Dimensions
  • Sheet width: 48.2cm
  • Sheet height: 33.0cm
Summary
Gary Goldberg is a documentary photographer based in Texas. Every summer between 2009 and 2012, Goldberg made many visits to Stratford, East London, to document the process of urban renewal taking place alongside the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. He returned to photograph the same views at intervals over the course of four years in order to reveal the ‘before and after’ physical and social transformation of the environment. For the most part, the improvements are evident, as once-desolate industrial sites become landscaped destinations. Yet, Goldberg’s photographs also capture a fleeting sense of what local character may have been lost in the area’s redevelopment.

Goldberg’s project also follows in the footsteps of many other photographers held within the V&A Collection who have documented the changing faces of London for over a century. His work speaks directly to Dixon & Boole’s and William Strudwick’s records of 19th century streets, pubs and slums, as well as Bill Brandt, Roger Mayne and many others throughout the twentieth century. The transformation of Hackney Wick has also been a popular subject for more recent artists such as Stephen Gill, whose depictions of the area involve ephemera found along the canal.
Collection
Accession number
E.719-2017

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Record createdNovember 1, 2017
Record URL
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