For the last seven years, Andy Hall, a photographer for the Observer, has been traversing the City of London, capturing its evolution with his camera – navigating the post-Brexit landscape, the haunting stillness of the pandemic, and the world that followed. His captivating photographs, now assembled in a remarkable book titled The Same for Everyone, delve into the essence and atmosphere of the capital’s historical heart, which accommodates roughly 8,000 residents and serves as a daily office for around 600,000 more. His images illuminate the contrasts within this financial stronghold, featuring its ancient Roman structures and the array of skyscrapers with tabloid nicknames (like the Cheesegrater, the Gherkin, and the Walkie-Talkie) that vie for attention above the Bank of England’s vaults.
A 2023 photograph captures a group of City explorers framed against the pinnacle of the Shard, evoking a sense of the surreal ambiance of the area where sharp minds spend extensive hours at workstations manipulating figures to their advantage. This group seems to have stumbled upon this peculiar urban landscape by chance, searching for orientation and familiar markers.
Hall’s portrayal of the City garnered the esteemed best author award at the recent Trieste festival, presided over by renowned Magnum photographer Harry Gruyaert, who remarked that these are “the kind of images I would love to have captured myself … extracting order from chaos.” This newfound order often reflects a sense of estrangement. In one shot, a wild wolfhound wanders among hurried commuters, embodying the restless essence of the City; in another, a silhouetted bird stretches its wings over the towering skyscrapers, symbolizing a foreboding omen. Hall’s workers, frequently caught in brief moments of lunchtime reflection or ensnared in abrupt, striking geometries of glass and steel, navigate the shadows and reflections of what Boris Johnson labeled the “phallocratic” Square Mile. Certain street-level scenes evoke a sense of urgency reminiscent of the dystopian environmental film Don’t Look Up.
The Same for Everyone is published by Snap Collective
