In his 1889 socio-cultural survey, Charles Booth expressed the view that “East London lay hidden from view behind a curtain on which were painted terrible pictures”. He believed that the mythology overwhelmed the reality. His mission was to lift the curtain and reveal the truth.

Keith Greenough’s Lifting the Curtain re-visits Booth’s East London through a series of photographs of modern day places juxtaposed with texts drawn from Booth’s 1889 survey. The locations pictured are places Booth and his associates would have visited. The texts describe what they witnessed.

Whilst the work is testimony to the changes that have taken place in East London, many of the social issues that Booth observed over 100 years ago still have resonance today.