The photographs in The Grind by Steve Madden published by GOST Books show the strange beauty of anonymous commuters behind the misty windows of the London bus network.
The photographs were all made during the evening peak rush hour over the course of three winters. They capture a small snapshot of the five million bus journeys made in the capital city every day. Madden would spend the mornings on the radio for the BBC and then journey into Central London whenever it rained or if it was freezing cold late in the day. The bad weather would lead to condensation on the bus windows—familiar to many Londoners—and create the abstract scenes Madden wished to photograph.
‘All the best pictures were the ones that got away, of course – it’s one of the world’s busiest cities, and it’s full of obstructions, many of them human. I travelled all over London trying to find the perfect location, but there were certain bus-stops I was drawn to again and again. I’m sure I became a familiar sight in Finsbury Park, Hounslow, Islington, Kingston, Strand, Stratford, Waterloo, Whitechapel and more. London never stands still, change is constant, and several of the routes have been withdrawn. The stop in the Strand isn’t there any more – that stretch of road is now pedestrianised. And misty windows aren’t what they were–buses are increasingly air-conditioned, and since Covid, passenger numbers are down. So what I did there is already becoming history. Change is what happens when you’re looking the other way….’
Steve Madden : The Grind
GOST Books
232x290mm
128pp 78 images
ISBN 978-1-915423-73-3
£40 | €50 | $55
www.gostbooks.com
