Charles Dickens was writing about revolutionary Paris when he penned the immortal opening lines “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” but the celebrated Londoner could easily have been talking about the 12 months in his home town that have been captured by American Brian Leli.
The period from August 2011-2012 contained all that is good and bad of the capital: riots, violence, financial protests, celebrations of national pride during the Queen’s Jubilee and sporting excellence at the Olympic Games. Leli documented that time through photo and essay as he studied for a Master’s in International Journalism, and the result is London and a Year.
His photography is notable for an ability to capture the human face of what can at times seem a cold and unforgiving place, and while his pictures definitely lean towards the bleak, there are at least a few images which suggest a community spirit is to be found even in the shadiest corners of this most forbidding of cities.
