Peter Marlow at the Wapping Project Bankside

Opened almost a decade ago in the Victorian throes of an abandoned London power station, the Wapping Project has unequivocally established itself as the multi-purpose creative venue in the East.
This month, Dr Jules Wright – sole founder, owner and keeper of the Wapping Project - unveils the second show to take residence within the Wapping Project Bankside: a brand new South London space dedicated to the exposition of both up-and-coming and established photographic talent.
In suitably capital-centric form, the show features early work by London-based artist and photojournalist Peter Marlow.
Commissioned by the Photographer's Gallery back in 1981 to produce a show built around the subject of ‘London at Night’, Marlow took to the abandoned streets of his pre-Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs home to capture the industrial forms and derelict spaces with his evocative, long-exposure shots.
Produced by Marlow in his less than roomy flat of the time - the milky, architecturally-inspired images retain the marks of clothes pegs after being hung out to dry in his dark room all those years ago - and with demolished, pre-Wharf landmarks, such as Norman Foster's Fred Olsen Terminal, featuring throughout, the show provides an unexpected insight into the Dockland's less than illustrious beginnings.
Artfully combining Marlow’s astute photojournalistic aesthetic with his distinctive artistic vision, the Wapping Project Bankside’s second show provides an arresting insight into the days before the soaring spires of the Wharf.
Social Housing Limehouse. 1982
Waiting room at Stepney East Station, 1982
Night shots on the Isle of Dogs in Docklands, 1982
Council estate walkway across West Ferry Road on the Isle of Dogs,1982
Swingbridge over the entrance to West India Dock, 1982
Entrance to wharf off West Ferry Road on the Isle of Dogs, 1982
Wasteland near Millwall Dock The Isle of Dogs,1982
The Isle of Dogs, 1982
Social Housing, the Isle of Dogs, 1982
Abandoned car, Isle of Dogs, 1982
ADDRESS
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Wapping Project Bankside
65a Hopton Street
London
SE1 9LR
-
Let there be light: a closer look at Prada’s stripped-back S/S 2026 show set
‘This is the first time the Fondazione is completely bare, with the light coming in,’ said Raf Simons backstage at Prada’s ‘light, fresh, colourful’ and ‘human’ S/S 2026 men’s show in Milan
-
A Swedish scooter blends Teenage Engineering’s aesthetic with accessible electric mobility
The EPA1 Scooter is the first product from mobility start-up Vässla, an assured and flexible design shaped in conjunction with TE to assist everyday urban mobility
-
Discover Canadian modernist Daniel Evan White’s pitch-perfect homes
Canadian architect Daniel Evan White (1933-2012) had a gift for using the landscape to create extraordinary homes; revisit his story in an article from the Wallpaper* archives (first published in 2011)