A new riverside photography exhibition celebrates the people who built Thames Tideway, London’s new super sewer.
“Standing by the Thames”, a photography series by Matthew Joseph, was commissioned by Tideway – the company behind the project.
The series pairs portraits of those involved, with expansive panoramas that celebrate the infrastructure reconnecting Londoners with the River Thames.
The exhibition, which is free to visit from the May 23-31, marks the start of London Rivers Week, an annual campaign co-run by environmental charity Thames21 to inspire the public to celebrate London’s rivers and the many projects taking place to protect them.
It is installed on Bazalgette Embankment, near Blackfriars Bridge – one of seven new riverside public spaces reclaimed from the Thames as part of the super sewer project. The seven pairs of images will be accompanied by the stories of the people featured in the portraits, as well as the stories of the spaces.
“This exhibition is about the people behind the river – those who live and work alongside it, and those playing a role in its long-term improvement,” said Tideway CEO Matt Parr. “Standing by the Thames brings together powerful imagery and personal stories to reflect that connection, and to encourage people to see the river not just as a backdrop to London life, but as something we all have a shared responsibility to protect.
Matthew Joseph, who has been creatively involved with the Tideway project since 2013, said it was an honour to produce a final body of work to celebrate the project’s completion.
“Over the years, I’ve met many of the 25,000 people involved in making it happen, and it felt only natural to portray the human face behind the planning, hard work, long hours and dedication – alongside the beautifully varied and thoughtfully designed public spaces left behind,” he said.
The Tideway sewer was made fully operational in February last year after 10 years of construction. The 25km tunnel has a diameter of 7.2m. It was built using four TBMs.
