The Soho described by Robert Louis Stevenson in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde as ‘a district of some city in a nightmare’ is dramatically different to the one discovered in 2011 by renowned Swedish photographer Anders Petersen. As part of a series of off-site artist commissions supported by Bloomberg, Petersen was invited by The Photographers’ Gallery to undertake a four-week residency in the bubbling creative underbelly of London. Turning his direct and unflinching gaze to the streets of Soho, Petersen produced a series which is both penetrating and sensitive to his subjects. His intimate, diaristic style of coarse black and white photography captures the essence of today's Soho while drawing you back into the depths of its history.

For a month Petersen immersed himself in the life of the famous London district, documenting the streets, pubs, cafes and private homes of the residents. This latest installment of his series City Diaries is a testament to the dynamism and diversity of the area and the people who frequent and live in it. (Publisher)

享有國際知名度的瑞典攝影師Anders Petersen，除了曾受邀於世界各地展出外，他在1978年出版了首部創作計劃Café Lehmitz後，此輯便成了歐洲攝影藝術的教科書之一。自八零年代中期後，他把創作重點聚焦在安養院、監獄及精神療養院，長期以來皆圍繞著社會邊緣的生活形態，至今已出版的二十餘本相關攝影集。

Soho是倫敦市區的市中心，混雜著各行各業、也以同志酒吧聞名，同位於此處的攝影家藝廊邀請Petersen於此駐村為期四週，透過他的眼來發掘這區的不同。這本Soho攝影集如同他這段期間的生活私札，透過他一貫的作風、他毫不避諱地直擊街頭巷尾現場，捕捉到具有穿透力又私密的影像，共同見證了Soho這區充滿活力和多樣性的生活。