New Photography Book, London Unseen, Captures the Grit And Quirkiness Of London

On The Table Read, “the best arts magazine in the UK“, photgrapher Paul Scane shares the people, architecture and graffiti of the real London away from the tourism in London Unseen.

London Unseen

Photographer Paul Scane has spent 15 years travelling across London, mainly on foot and bicycle, visually documenting the city of his birth with his four analogue cameras. Now, in London Unseen, he takes his readers on a magical mystery tour of the city, away from the tourist images embedded in our psyche, to share an alternative visual feast of urban scenes; people, architecture, graffiti and much more. From the witty to the obscure, Scane captures the true essence of the UK’s capital city.

Surprisingly witty, poignant and immersive, London Unseen offers a significant and substantive chronicle of London’s 21st-century social history, giving a modern take on the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Featuring only a fraction of the images taken during the project, Scane captured the character and soul of the city with affection and curiosity, using his his Leica, Hasselblad, Mamiya and Linhof cameras.

Devoid of the usual tourist spots, London Unseen’s appeal is far-reaching as it shines a light on the campy dry cleaner “Go Gay”, a double-decker bus appearing to manoeuvre a miniature golf course, and an abandoned tank in south London. Whether a Londoner, photography aficionado or keen to update your coffee table book selection, London Unseen will give you a fresh taste of a city you thought you knew.

Paul Scane

Paul Scane is a Londoner and passionate photographer. Committed to using analogue cameras, London Unseen is the result of a 15-year project to capture the realities of his hometown. 

“Sometimes I would go out with a specific destination and purpose in mind: in the case of events such as Notting Hill Carnival or Gay Pride, I would return to the same place over a number of years: very often I would simply cycle to areas I did not know, taking different routes there and back, giving myself the best chance to discover something new – or, to think of it another way, to give London an opportunity to reveal some hidden part of itself. If I had the wrong camera with me or needed extra equipment – a stepladder or a tripod – I would note the location and return another day. 

“So my hope is that the reader will share my experience of discovering London through these photographs – and, like mine, perhaps their experience will have a scattershot, exploratory quality. My hometown is a place of a thousand pasts and a thousand presents, all jostling and overlapping. and instead of trying to impose order or sequence, London Unseen simply presents the city as I encountered it chaotically, vibrantly, unpredictably, and in a spirit of exploration.” 

Find London Unseen now:

Published by teNeues Books, London Unseen is available in hardcover (£18.35) on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3THeqV4 

It is also available at Waterstones and W H Smith