Squaring the Circle

The starting point for my exhibition centres on the City of London, not far from the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The series of images evolved from personal reminiscences into more fictional narratives. I have stretched meaning by sometimes blending two images, hoping to conjure a third, while accepting that differing life experiences might reject the premise or reveal things I had not seen.

A thread runs through these images, woven from gold, guilds, livery and institutions. The Guild system was not simply about trade; it helped educate generations, passing knowledge and responsibility onwards. Leather and cloth were materials within a biosystem where little was wasted, connecting ideas of craft, continuity, reuse and value with the institutions I have photographed.

From the City’s fortress-like walls to Canary Wharf, a lantern rising from reclaimed marsh, the photographs suggest how commerce, power and history are interwoven.

I was also drawn to photograph the City of Westminster where Churchill’s memory towers: his statue stands beside a bomb-damaged doorway to the House of Commons, opposite Margaret Thatcher, whose statue appears strangely out of scale, as if destined for ‘another place’.

The project is far from over. There are so many functions embedded within these buildings and a short visual essay cannot compete with the magnitude and complexity of the built environment. What I present is more akin to a poem, leaving gaps for the viewer to fill.

I include a poem, ‘Squaring the Circle’, at the end, which sketches some of the City’s many functions. Together, these fragments form a narrative rather than a conclusion, inviting curiosity about the institutions and forces that shape our lives. I welcome your comments on the instagram link below to develop a feedback loop and establish a thread for dialogue.

All images and poem © 2026 Andy Lloyd