Matthew Laurence

Every time I find myself visiting a new destination I am drawn to its side streets and alleyways with its posters, stickers, spray paint, and public notices piled together. Over time, these incongruities created through weathering and new additions of revealed layers provide a narrative to the underbelly of a city’s true identity. I try and capture images that provide references to a location’s historical, cultural, and political identity from the very concrete, brick, and metal which make up each urban area. Each image contains bits and pieces of the past, present, and future aspirations that reflect the inhabitants who walk those streets. This photographic series spans over fifteen years and across five continents with twenty three counties to include: Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, The United States of America, and Vietnam.

This will be an ongoing series of images selected to share and you will see a number of the pictures as image elements to other work.