SPACE

26 October – 15 December 2007

PETER AINSORTH, ALESSANDRA CHILÁ, SOPHIE GERRARD, MARK KING, JASON LARKIN, CHRIS LITTLEWOOD, REINALDO LOUREIRO, PETER MARSHALL, ANTHONY MARSLAND, TOBY SMITH, RITA SOROMENHO, GESCHE WUERFEL, JON WYATT

As the foundations for London’s Olympic park are being laid, Roof Unit presents a photographic exhibition to mark the recent closure of the Lea Valley. 13 diverse perspectives examine a cross section of an area that by 2012 will have totally transformed.

Farewell from the Garden Paradise’ by Gesche Wuerfel depicts the intimate, personal spaces of the Manor Garden Allotments and documents the departure of the plot holders from their sheds. The allotments will soon be demolished to construct a footpath.

Anthony Marsland’s unearthly image of a pylon network at night offers a wider vista of the valley as a testament to how the skyline will be altered. The pylons, which previously dominated the landscape, are being dismantled and cables moved underground.

The work of photojournalist Jason Larkin endeavors to preserve the unique characteristics of a deep-rooted, family-run business whilst Allessanda Chilá’s lighbox captures in a single frame the coexistence of nature, industry and society.

All the artists in Foundations make visible evidence of how the Lea Valley has evolved into such a complex microcosm at a time when its development will again wash over history and make so many of its factories and studios

Roof Unit is a collection of freelance photographers based in a retired soap factory in East London. Foundations’ is their first collective exhibition and incorporates work by other invited photographers. After the initial convergence, the project gathered a natural momentum, the results of which can be seen in this rare exhibition.

Foundations is showing at SPACE alongside Brian Griffin: The Water People