Subway systems always have their particular allure, and it’s funny how they come to represent the city they are in – just compare the unique smells to be found in Berlin, compared to Paris or London. What is universal is the way how we will rub shoulders with people from all walks of life, cramped together in a small space for a short moment in time – usually a moment that will be quickly forgotten, but don’t we all have our memories of distinct occasions, good or bad, funny or sad, that we shared with random strangers?
It’s exactly those that photographer Bob Mazzer has been collecting for several decades now during his daily commute on the feted / feared London Underground (from his job as a projectionist in a small porn cinema, no less), documenting those quick glimpses of the unexpected. His images have a rare sense of innocence, and this wonderful capacity of transporting us immediately to somewhere else. They make us see our own world from a distance, and notice for a moment the mundane beauty that we often tend to overlook.
A selection of his underground images are currently on exhibition at Howard Griffin gallery, whereas there is a charming interview with Mazzer over at It’s Nice That.
Photography by Bob Mazzer
