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Church Street - Inspirations
Jun 12, 2020
The London Street of Contrasts and Contradictions
Church Street runs between Edgware Road and Lisson Grove in northwest London. In the olden days of pre-lockdown, I worked just round the corner (if my hazy memories serve me correctly). The unusual and little known street has been an endless source of fascination and creative inspiration for me.
The Church Street area is ethnically diverse, with a large Arabic-speaking Muslim population and high levels of social deprivation. The skyline is a jumble of council tower blocks interspersed with cranes from nearby construction sites. Below, the street features a bustling daily market at the Edgware Road end, selling everything from fruit and vegetables to fresh fish - cooked while you wait - to cheap clothing and perfumes. Pound shops, hardware stores and newsagents are clustered along the busy pavements.
In sharp contrast, the Lisson Grove end of Church Street is lined with upmarket furniture stores and antique shops including the famous Alfie's Market which is home to more than 70 antique dealers. Here, a few minutes' browsing may unearth a Ming dynasty vase, some original Roman religious relics and an ancient African tribal headdress...my lunch breaks are never dull.
For an artist the street offers endless visual variety to enjoy and explore: the square, regular, repeated patterns of the council tower blocks; the irregular, haphazard shapes of the market stalls; the beautiful window displays of the antique shops; the chaotic, makeshift displays of the market; the patterns created - and interrupted - by piles of stacked plastic crates, cardboard boxes and metal cages; and all around, fluttering striped tarpaulins and the ever-changing patterns of human movement and interaction.
There is also no shortage of conceptual contrasts to ponder - not least the drastic shift in attitudes and philosophy as you walk from one end of the street to the other. At one extreme, quality is everything, whilst at the other, quantity reigns. Whilst origin and provenance is of supreme importance to the antique dealers, the source of the cheap goods and clothing in the market may be better not to know. Some of the goods are to be treasured for generations, others to be disposed of without a second thought. And whilst at one end of the street, basic everyday needs are met, at the other sales are driven purely by desire.
My daily jaunts along Church Street have inspired an ongoing series of creative responses - subsequent posts will feature some of these. If you live in London or are ever visiting, I encourage you to ditch the tourist traps for an afternoon and head to Church Street for a feast of contrasts and contradictions (and some very tasty fish).
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