Laurence Weedy has chosen what some might feel is a depressing subject matter, the dark dankness of winter life along an urban tidal river. Grey is the dominant colour in his images, punctuated by rusty tones, green slime and the occasional white bird eeking out a living alongside the detrius of human habitation. Bikes, shopping trollies, road signs and road cones are featured in the photographer's images, all in varying states of decay, mud encrusted, broken and twisted. This wasteland is exposed twice daily at low tide, at all other times it remains hidden from view, decomposing out of eyesight, the river above a grey, rippling surface reflecting the sky and carrying boats. Only twice can you see what people have thrown over the side, disposing of unwanted or stolen items with ease.
Laurence Weedy's images seem to reveal the underbelly of urban life, the darker, murkier side of life, yet they also retain a certain strength that goes beyond simply observation of waste matter. This is a side of life that people would rather ignore: the grey of winter, mud and slime but actually it can be quite beautiful. Some images show dumped rubbish as though it were a dignified old wreck, sinking slowly into the mud, just edges of it still poking out above the water. Other images celebrated the greyness of things. Grey clouds become solid and scultpural, grey mud shimmers and ripples, it's reflective qualities is immense, even on the grimiest of days. Birds continue to thrive on this river, alongside the detrius, finding food in the mud. Humans tend to find mud repulsive, to find winter depressing, but as Laurence Weedy shows, there really is no need. There is something beautiful even in the most unexpected places if we just open our minds and take the time to look.