You can see London from a whole new topsy-turvy view at Alexandra Palace’s new exhibition
Less scary than Stranger Things' Upside Down
Sometimes you feel like you see London from a completely different angle, like when you stumble upon a quiet corner you’ve never seen before or when you cross one of the grand old bridges just as golden hour sun is bouncing off the Houses of Parliament and you feel that ingénue, big-city wow-factor all over again. The new exhibition at the beloved Ally Pally is putting a different spin on the idea of seeing things from a new angle, giving Londoners the chance to see the city turned on its head.
For nine days, arts organisation Pinhole London is offering visitors the chance to see the famous view from Ally Pally’s Terrace turned on its head. The view from the north London building spans over some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, like the Shard and the BT Tower. They’ll achieve this effect by using a camera obscura, which any art students or history buffs will recognise as a pretty ancient technique.
Camera Obscura means dark chamber, and uses the historic technique which was vital in the creation of photography, all the way up to modern-day cameras as we know them. Cast your minds back to physics GCSE, and a small hole is made in a dark room or box, which means images from the outside of the box get projected onto the box’s opposite wall. Voila: you have a perfect inverted view.
Whilst Alexandra Palace is mainly known for being a performing venue and has hosted countless headliners, including Queen and Pink Floyd, the new exhibition Upside Down London will bring a fun twist to the venue, whilst celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first photographs.
Running from 1st until 9th August, the event is completely free to attend, although it’s recommended that you book a session to secure your slot.
Ally Pally’s pinhole camera isn’t London’s only obscura, with one over in Greenwich’s Royal Observatory in its Meridian Courtyard, which offers up an inverted view of the Thames, the Royal Naval College, and more. There's also the Photographer’s Gallery in Oxford Circus, which shows the views from its neighbouring Sohoian streets.
You can find more information about the new installation on Alexandra Palace’s website.
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