Chris Dorley Brown has documented London's East End all his life. Today, we are delighted to present this collection in a retrospective book - the photographer's first monograph.

Chris Dorley Brown is a self-taught British documentary photographer, based in London's East End. His cultural education was formed in East London in the late 1970s, against a backdrop of highly polarized political conflict and change.

The photographs presented in this book - over 100 - were taken between 1984 and 2023. The journey through the book is like taking a stroll: starting on the banks of the Thames, we discover the vernacular architecture of the 1980s; their demolition a few years later; followed by more recent architecture. We follow the transformations brought about by construction for the Olympic Games; then, the deserted streets during lockdown; ending on the banks of the Thames, almost at its mouth. One-offs, here and there, intersperse these main themes.
Texts and leaflets are included in the book. The author recounts his career with a certain ease that reminds us, his publishers, of his oratorical skills: the depictions are very visual, and anecdotes are related side-by-side with his most profound thoughts..

This photographic work is given the scope it deserves in the book, revealing the history of the East End. It is also, and above all, a depiction of how capitalism and development took on new forms as it spread through the area.

The book's graphic design is by Marie Pellaton. In alignment with the photographic work, she designed a sober, minimalistic layout in a format adapted to that of the photographs. The texts are translated into French by Pierre-Louis Brunet.