Roelof Bakker, ‘Still’, Hornsey Town Hall

'Male Artists’ Dressing Room (Clock)' from 'STILL' by Roelof Bakker

Just wanted to give a belated mention to a really good photography exhibition in Crouch End recently. It was a series of photographs of Hornsey Town Hall, an Art Deco listed building that has been minimally used for a long time now. After Hornsey was absorbed into the larger borough of Haringey in the 1960s, the town hall was no longer needed for its original purpose, and there has been a debate for ages about what to do with it.

In the meantime, Roelof Bakker went in and photographed the old, fossilised office spaces. There was something very poignant about seeing the abandoned offices, the old clocks, the posters and furniture, the files and letters that were once so relevant but now lie forgotten. Some images were fairly straight documentary, others more unusual. I remember particularly a clock that had rusted, and the rusty water trickling down the wall looked like a trail of blood. And the exhibition title was well-chosen – there was a stillness to the images, with the people who gave the place meaning long since departed and only the objects remaining, in a kind of stasis.

I am so late in posting about this – the exhibition closed about a month ago! But there are some more details, photos and exhibition notes here.

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