Friday, 22 July 2011

Robots of Brixton

Robots of Brixton from Kibwe Tavares on Vimeo.



Filmmaker Kibwe Tavares has created this dystopic short film showing a futuristic Brixton where Londons robot workforce have found a home. It follows the lives of young robots living in a similar poverty to that of the working class now. The Police then raid the community causing a riot reminiscent of the 1981 Brixton riots.
The film blends past and future and ties the two together with a quote from Karl Marx "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."
Be sure to check out the soundtrack which is the 30th anniversary of the Brixton riots tribute song Insurrection by Hiatus featuring Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Friday, 3 June 2011

Simon Wheatley : Don't Call Me Urban! The Time of Grime


Photographer Simon Wheatley has documented a culture feared by most. The Grime scene. To those outside of it the word "grime" conjours up images of hooded youths and violence. Wheatleys work takes a more personal approach to it, showing the violence and crime but also exploring the people behind the hoods, who are generally kids who've grown up in poverty or surrounded by violence or criminal role models.

Instead of the subjects seeming intimidating, there is a sense of isolation, tension and sadness in the photos. In an article from the BBC Wheatley describes how he struggled to gain the trust of some of his subjects as they thought he was an undercover, they found it hard to believe that someone from outside of their bubble would be interested in them unless they were trying to lock them up.

The photos have been published in a book called 'Don't Call Me Urban' and is on sale at bookstores and online and is definatley worth a look.

Sunday, 15 May 2011

Action Sampler Landscapes




These composite photos are taken on an action sampler camera which takes 4 images each a split second apart. For each i took one of the top of a view, one of the middle and one of the bottom and put them together. They aren't totally coherant but i think they turned out alright.

A Few Colour Film Shots