Hidden in Plain Sight: London Infrastructure

Low-fi film (12mins) followed by photographs/maps I have collected over several years, with narration and a small group debate as we explore this hidden world, in the city and along the estuary.

Increasingly as one moves to the periphery of London, the vast networks of infrastructure that keep us fed and watered become apparent. The scale of the operations that keep our shops full starts to dawn. But why should we care?

Simon Cole (Hackney Tours, Container Cult) has been following the threads from East London to the other side of the world. By taking notice of our infrastructure, he argues, we can start to join the dots that connect us to the global systems that must be interrogated if we are to tackle issues like Climate Change or the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

If nothing else, we may experience a modern kind of sublime as we comprehend the hidden life support systems without which our current lifestyles - indeed our survival - would not be possible.

After a simple homemade 12 minute film, there will be further images and information about the systems that sustain us, to provoke thought about how we go forward post-lockdown and pre-Net Zero.