Three Hours From: SOUTH KENSINGTON

Despite changeable weather I really enjoyed this first full-length journey. I literally wandered in whatever direction I felt like, not looking at a map once. This strategy took me on a journey through the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, one of the most affluent and beautiful boroughs of London.

I hoped that on each journey I undertook for this project, a defining theme or feature specific to each individual walk would emerge. In this case, I found myself continually noting architectural detail, the intricacies of ironwork, carvings and sculptures. With such a proliferation of historically rich and important buildings in this royal borough, I think the focus of follow-up work for this first outing will be the attention to detail and the resolute high presentation standards of this area of London. As the royal borough, it is imperative that Kensington is kept as pristine as possible; the rare piece of litter on the streets looks guilty and lonely, graffiti is minimal (removed immediately) and the streets are patrolled by wardens particularly concerned with keeping it clean and orderly.

The defining artworks of Kensington are in most cases hundreds of years old. Their grandeur and detail have been designed to showcase the wealth, prosperity and regality of the city, and to continue to bear evidence of this through the centuries. They are built to last, considered, and very well-guarded. This is an interesting contrast to the edgier, less privileged areas of London, where the surfaces of the streets are continually being modified and adapted. Artwork is more transient, rules of preservation less stringent. The pride and grandeur evident walking through this affluent pocket of West London will be the subject of my work for this first journey.