Paul Nezandonyi presents a series of images from his ongoing project ‘Taxi!’. A street photography project on London’s iconic Hackney carriage, its cabbies, and its passengers.
With their illuminated orange ‘TAXI’ signs, the Capital’s lustrous black cabs are famous worldwide and are as distinctive as red post boxes and double-decker buses. However, in recent years, they have been under threat due to the rise of taxi apps. Then, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit with lockdown restrictions and halted tourism, further compounding the struggles of cabbies. Today, demand for rides has dramatically reduced, and most cabbies find it difficult to make a living.
With the elegant black cab facing extinction, this project seeks to capture it in various guises. Each taxi, each trip, is a tale. A joyful traveller, homebound to reunite with a loved one. A cabbie, waiting in traffic, venting pent-up frustration. A rowing couple, feeling caged in the back. An anxious passenger desperately hailing a rush hour ride. This project captures fleeting moments in the life of a moving monument to London life.
During the summer of 2022, Paul’s work was featured in the Street Photography Assignments Exhibition at Fujifilm House of Photography Gallery in Covent Garden, London. Organised by the global photography collective Urban Photographers Club, the exhibition showcased the work of 32 photographers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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