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An image on the back of a Bangladeshi rickshaw snapped by Ken Garland. |
The hot design ideas behind street fire hydrants?
The Tall Windows of Mexico, A Close Look at Rickshas of Bangladesh and A Close Look at Fire Hydrants.
By Ken Garland.
Pudkin, £10
THEY are everyday objects, part of the fabric of urban life, the sort of street furniture that people walk past each day without casting a second glance.
But for designer Ken Garland something as simple as a fire hydrant holds an aesthetic beauty that, to him, speaks volumes about how form and functionality go hand in hand with beauty.
It is this idea that forms the basis of a new series of books he has published that bring together his skill as a photographer married with his eye for design.
Although known for his stunning graphic art – as well as writing the comprehensive story behind Harry Beck’s iconic Tube map – Ken has always been a keen photographer. As a designer for the toy company Galt, he found himself regularly taking pictures to illustrate catalogues, and now he ventures out on individual photography projects.
“Photography was always part of my work,” reveals Ken.
“It was part of the design process for me. As far as possible I’d do photography alongside my graphic work.”
The first three books in this series included studies of pebbles and trinkets, while this second series takes in aspects of his travels, bringing us a detailed look at such diverse topics as an architectural oddity that defines in Ken’s eyes the scheme of Mexican urban house building, another showing civic design through a global study of fire hydrants, and finally the eye-catching street art of Bangladeshi rickshaw drivers.
While each topic alone may border on the eccentric, Ken has found beauty in them, and has catalogued them through a series of pictures.
“I become obsessed with subjects,” he says.
There are few rules, but one of them is the subjects make up a recognisable part of the urban environment.
“They are mainly things you can see in the street,” says Ken.
“They are objects that occur in an urban, or sometimes suburban, environment. They are things you will come across as you move around.”
The Bangladeshi book stems from his wife's background: Wanda Garland, an artist, was the headteacher at Thomas Buxton school in Brick Lane for 11 years. Ken reveals that the couple befriended many people who had Bangladeshi origins while she worked there, and they were urged to visit the country.
He has also turned his lens on the East End’s renowned graffiti art, and travelled through Northern Ireland capturing the political murals found on gable ends.
“In the East End, it changes every two weeks,” says Ken. “The artists have an unsaid rule that they leave each other’s work alone for a fortnight, then it’s OK to create something yourself in its place.”
DAN CARRIER |
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