Every Building on the Old Kent Road is a documentation of one of the oldest, most important roads in London as it stood in 2019, inspired by the pioneering and unconventional work of Ed Rushca, who in 1966 photographed the length of the Sunset Strip.

In 1966 Ed Ruscha photographed the entire length of the Sunset Strip from the back of a pickup truck. The images were then spliced together and presented as a concertina photo book. He described them as “snapshots with only an average attention to clarity” and “technical data”. His process and presentation was stripped back and simple, beautiful and upfront. A documentation of what is around us, presented simply for the viewer to experience.

In homage to Ruscha, Matthew White adopted the same methodology in his documentation of the Old Kent Road. The shooting process was as mechanical and unadulterated as possible. From a pickup truck, slowly travelling along the 1.8 miles of Old Kent Road, White shot at set intervals using a remote, through the sunroof.

One of the oldest roads in London, the Old Kent Road has been the main artery connecting London with Europe for over 2000 years. As such it has borne witness to some monumental events throughout history. It was this intriguing past, jarring architecture, overflow of industry and, against all odds, strong community feeling that prompted White to want to document the road as it stood today.

Big change is on the horizon however. The planned tube extension has caused major development plans to be drawn up including 20,000 new homes and 5000 new jobs over the next 2 decades. White’s photography will therefore become an important historical record and document of this infamous London road.