Liquid City

Iain Sinclair is known for his 'dense, impressionistic, psychogeographical formulations' of London in books such as "White Chappell", "Scarlet Tracings", "Downriver" and also the recent, critically-lauded "London Orbital". A particular showcase for Sinclair's unique style are his collaborations with photographer Marc Atkins: these eccentric, manic, often moving explorations of London's hidden streets, cemeteries, canals, parks, pubs and personalities were first recorded in the highly acclaimed "Lights Out for the Territory", praised in "The Guardian" as 'one of the most remarkable books ever written on London'. "Liquid City" documents the duo's further peregrinations: consisting of 180 striking, atmospheric photographs by Atkins with accompanying texts by Sinclair. The book focuses on London's eastern and south-eastern quadrants. An array of famous and lesser-known writers, booksellers and film-makers slip in and out of Sinclair's annotations, as do memories and remnants of the East End's criminal mobs, as well as physical landmarks as diverse as the Thames barrier and Karl Marx's grave in Archway cemetery. The title "Liquid City" evokes the river Thames, which flows silently through both text and image, and to suggest the changes London has undergone and, like all cities, is constantly undergoing.