THE SANDSTORMS that wrap, choke, and blind Cairo in a periodic haze are a reminder of the desert’s proximity. Driving west out of the city, free from the congestion of inner Cairo, it is a shockingly fast escape out of the metropolis on flyovers that traverse a brief ribbon of greenery, dissolving into the beige of the desert and the gauntlet of gaudy advertisements for … Continue reading Egypt’s Megafantasies
Egypt is typically associated with searing sun. Yet, for many people who live in densely packed urban areas, the light scarcely penetrates the narrow streets. “I get about half an hour of sunlight a day coming into my building” says Magdy, a 36-year old tuk-tuk driver who lives in Boulaq El-Dakrour, an informal neighbourhood of Cairo where many of the streets are barely wider than … Continue reading Beginning to see the light: Shining the sun’s rays into Cairo’s dark streets
A curious night-time incident between a dog and a leopard was captured on CCTV in the Mumbai suburb of Goregaon earlier this year. Footage was released on Youtube and Indian newspapers printed grainy snapshots of a dog chasing a leopard out of a housing complex. The dog, a stray, soon became a hero among the building’s residents. “We have three stray dogs in the building … Continue reading Living alongside leopards in Mumbai
“As the rest of the media pulled out of Gaza after operation “Pillar of Defence”, Patrick Keddie and photographer David Shaw stayed to record the effects of the eight-day bombardment. They found a territory that was threatened by a much bigger problem than the Israeli Defence Force’s rocket attacks: the near-total collapse of its water supplies and sewage infrastructure.” Read the article published in Delayed … Continue reading Troubled Waters
The photos are beautiful but often disturbing and Oil is a deeply ambivalent collection. They are a dire expose of the oil-fouled landscape but also partly a celebration of the stuff that underpins nearly every aspect of modern life. Continue reading Oil: Edward Burtynsky, The Photographers’ Gallery
Writing by Patrick Keddie 