Brick Lane and Heneage Street , 1974–5
49 x 46.2 cm (h x w)
Print on paper

© John Allin estate

Allin depicts the intersection between Brick Lane and Heneage Street in Spitalfields, the area which has housed successive generations of immigrant textile makers: from the French Huguenot refugee weavers in the 17th century, to the Jewish tailors who settled in the 19 th -20 th century - giving rise to the 'Schmattes' (rag trade) - later succeeded by the Bangladeshi community. Drawing on memories of his East End childhood, he includes a rabbi chatting to a group of young men outside the Heneage Street Synagogue (which closed in 1972), with Pendora's 'universal' fashions above, and a horse-drawn cart trundling slowly down Brick Lane in the background.

Exhibited by:

Ben Uri Research Unit

More from Ben Uri Research Unit

Looking Out , 2019
24 x 30 cm (h x w)
acrylic on canvas
Ben Uri Research Unit
On the Road , 2019
122 x 153 cm (h x w)
oil pastel and charcoal
Ben Uri Research Unit
Refugee Girl , 2020
10 x 32 cm (h x w)
Mixed media
Ben Uri Research Unit
Crucifixion at the Border , 2018
90 x 74 cm (h x w)
oil and collage on board
Ben Uri Research Unit
Early Morning , 2020
12 x 35 cm (h x w)
acrylic and pastel on paper
Ben Uri Research Unit