In early February 2020 I was in London. By then everyone knew something nasty was coming, if not perhaps how nasty it was going to be.
And I read something very strange: because the nasty thing had originated in China, people were avoiding Chinatown in London. Apparently if your parents or grandparents were born in China, you could now spread the virus through some process of morphic resonance. Or perhaps it was just racism. Yeah, that.
So on the way home after making what turned out to be the last prints I would make in the darkroom I still mourn, I decided to get off the tube at Leicester Square and take some pictures in Chinatown. It was the 10th of February.
I’d been trying to work out if I should sell my Lensbaby, a thing I hate on principle but have a secret soft spot for, and I’d extravagantly bought some of the latter-day Ektachrome, so that’s what I used, with a Pentax MX. I had most of one film, which I used in about half an hour. Some people would say that you can’t use ISO 100 film with an f/2 50mm lens at night: those people are fools.
I didn’t sell the Lensbaby.
In February 2023, when the pandemic was ‘over’, I remembered those pictures and went back with the same camera, film and lens to do it all again. Two rolls this time. E6 film now costs well over £1 per frame processed but not scanned. It’s now a rich person’s toy and I am not a rich person: this will probably the last time I do this.
Here is a small selection of images from these two excursions. Prints of these will presently be on show at the Ruth Smith Gallery in Devon: please come and say hello if you like them and can get there.
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brad sprinkle on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 25/04/2024
Comment posted: 25/04/2024
Jeffery Luhn on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 25/04/2024
the most 'honest' shots!
I used to collect 'spy' cameras and one of the most intriguing was a 'pocket watch' camera that had the lens under the winder. Only the center of the image was in focus, surrounded by a swirling effect of the barrel. Similar to your shots, only much less sharp. Your shots have a very voyeur feel to them, as if you're the spy! Very cool images! Thanks for posting!
Michael J Hoffman on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 25/04/2024
Your premise projects knowledge that has been acquired over the last four years onto the feelings and motivations of folks who did not have that knowledge in February, 2020. For the record, I was never very afraid of the virus, and I took reasonable precautions. I think the frenzy was largely motivated by the needless hype the media added to a largely manageable situation. When the China COVID connection really became apparent here in the States, I purposefully and conspicuously patronized Asian businesses and restaurants. Others who made different choices were not so much hateful as they were uninformed. Racism is specifically directed ignorance, and I think the baseless suppositions of folks in February 2020 were rooted in more of a general ignorance and lack of information than they were in any form of targeted animus.
I think the Lensbaby worked well here, and it does not always do that in every situation. In many instances the Lensbaby can seem gimmicky. As used here - and quite deftly, might I add - it imparts a visual connection to the chaotic worldview that was present in 2020. In any case, it caused me to think. I appreciate and very much enjoy your work and your opinion!
Gary Smith on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 25/04/2024
Geoff Chaplin on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 26/04/2024
Ibraar Hussain on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 28/04/2024
As for the racism - yes a few people I heard say things tongue in cheek but there wasn’t any racism. I for one thought it was all overblown fear mongering and my thoughts have since been confirmed - especially When they put Covid on my dad’s death certificate in December 2021 - when he didn’t have it and died of something else
grain_frame on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 29/04/2024
Paul Quellin on Lower than the Angels: Chinatown in February 2020 and 2023
Comment posted: 30/04/2024