In the second half of the nineteenth century, Europe fell under the spell of Japonisme. The visual language of a country that had only recently opened its doors to the West transformed painting,…
In December 2017, I travelled to Hong Kong to document the remaining neon signs. My explorations took me across all parts of the city; night after night, I followed the glow of this distinctive…
Pallas Athena, the Secession, the Plague Column—Vienna has never been sparing in its use of gilding on architectural landmarks. Far less attention, however, has been paid to the gilded shopfronts and…
Kolkata seems to be full of pilots. At least if one follows the inscriptions on its public buses. On the driver’s side door, the word “Pilot” is often painted in bold letters, while the opposite side…
South Park Street Cemetery was among the earliest non-ecclesiastical cemeteries in the world and, in the nineteenth century, likely the largest Christian burial ground outside Europe and the…
They belong to Amsterdam much as pubs belong to London: bruin cafés—intimate, traditional establishments frequented by locals and, for the most part, still largely untouched by gentrification and the…
A chance discovery: at Kwong Fah Press—a family-run business that has operated in Chinatown for over fifty years—a Heidelberg press remains in daily use. The Frankenthal Albert automatic press was…
Cars, buses, countless yellow Ambassador taxis, hand-pulled rickshaws, and India’s only tramway: the streets of Kolkata exist in a near-constant state of movement and congestion.
Yet during Durga…
Kolkata, the capital of Bengal, is considered the intellectual centre of India. Its inhabitants are known for their passion for politics and their affinity for art and literature. The city’s cultural…
At Abney Park Cemetery, subtle details emerge upon closer inspection of the gravestones. The lettering, in particular, appears almost as if it had been applied to the surface, bearing a striking…