This is Chloe Dewe Matthews who created this project called the Thames Log project.
Chloe explains about the project, which I am now translating to BSL.
On the wall, there are a series of six photographs taken at different points along the river Thames, from the source in Oxford all the way to Southend, where the river meets the sea.
I spent five years taking photographs of the practices and communities to show you different ways of looking at the river.
The process started pretty organically.
It was just kind of me wandering up and down the Thames, chatting to people, noticing things, exploring, finding out about events that were happening, and then photographing them.
It became a really great excuse for me to explore where I lived.
It was kind of a real patchwork, I think, of stories and ways in which people interacted with the river.
The first image was taken at the source of the Thames in Oxford.
This image shows a set of three ladies who were part of a pagan circle I encountered on the riverbank.
They allowed me to photograph this ritual they created together, where they came together and brought some fabric, a goblet of wine, and a postcard of Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave’.
The ceremony itself was invented, but it was a very organic and specific way of being together.
And communing by the river and making something important and shared.
The third image in the series is the Anglican Christian blessing of the river on the Epiphany to mark the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.
This image was taken at London Bridge.
On the north side of the Thames, there are congregations at Saint Magnus the Martyr church.
On the south side, there is Southwark Cathedral.
Both congregations process to one another and meet on London Bridge.
This bridge was one of the busiest commuter bridges, where many people would be oblivious to this ceremony.
The congregations come together, say a couple of prayers and then one of the priests throws a wooden crucifix off the bridge and into the river.
I was interested to learn that rather than being a centuries-old tradition, this ritual has only been happening here for 10 or 20 years.
It was started by one of the priests who spent time in Greece where, in the Greek Orthodox Church, they always do this on Epiphany.
He thought it would be something nice to bring to the Anglican community in London.
The series brings up lots of questions around tradition and customs; revived traditions and fabricated customs; things that we assume have happened for centuries, which is not always the case.
There is something about so many different religions, creeds or people, that talks about rivers as spaces that connect people in time.
For me, the Thames is a way of looking backwards into history.
By the river, away from the buildings, it feels like it belongs to everyone.
This photography project helped me explore what the river means to me.
So, the journey was interesting for me.