‘Strange Light’
— Reneé Bibby
In my Tucson Writers Studio Master class, one of my students started an amazing art/writing project chronicling the life and death of her parents, and while I work as a graphic designer, the primary function of my work is to communicate information—so I was struck anew, first by my student’s new project, and then by Miggy Angel’s ‘Strange Light’ photo-essay, how well story can come through images. Angel’s essay is a narrative about place. Moving from morning into an evening of a single day in London, the photos catch strangers in transit, hustling, grim faced along gray sidewalks, down stair wells, up escalators on their way to other places. And even when people pause, caught looking up from cell phones or smoke, they’re pausing—perhaps only as long as it took to take the photo—in public liminal spaces: terminals, bridges, and underground stations. The photos are candid and gritty, prioritizing movement and energy of occupied spaces in lieu of flattering portraiture. That stylistic choice of how to frame the story of London-in-a-day is a technical choice that supports the narrative of a lovely, frenetic, lively, diverse London.