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1. The World in One City: Philippe Sibelly’s Multicultural London Photography Project
7
Answers:
1.
In 2005, Philippe Sibelly heard that London was in the running to host the
2012 Olympics. A foreigner himself, Sibelly was inspired to capture Lon-
don’s multiculturalism in photographs. He called his project “World in One
City.” Each photo consists of a person representing one of 202 countries
holding a Polaroid of the previous person. Each image is linked together,
like the passing of the Olympic torch, according to Sibelly.
Although he already had many friends from other countries, Sibelly said the
project wasn’t always easy. He spent hours on emailing trying to coordinate
photo shoots and had to crisscross London to meet up with his subjects.
Some days he only took a couple of photos.
Despite the frustrations, Sibelly found the project rewarding. He remem-
bers the story behind each photograph, and he’s noticed the “slightly artifi-
cial construct of nationality” his project displays. For example, the man rep-
resenting Peru is actually a Palestinian refugee who doesn’t look typically
Peruvian, and his subject from Haiti, whose mother is Haitian, has never
actually been to Haiti.
While his work captures the city’s great diversity, Sibelly doesn’t romanticise
it. He realises that multiculturalism can be challenging for some London-
ers. Overall, though, he believes the best way to adjust is to stay positive and
look for the good that diversity brings.
2.
1-A; 2-A; 3-C; 4-A; 5-B; 6-D; 7-C.
3.
a. has pondered on a lot;
b. no longer exists;
c. To travel around;
d. looking through;
e. I settled for;
d. to get used to
4. TITLE:
The World in One City: Philippe Sibelly’s Multicultural London
Photography Project
AUTHOR:
Zoe Craig
NEWSPAPER:
visitlondon.com (blog)
DATE:
September 8
th
, 2010
SUBJECT:
Photography
THESIS:
Philippe Sibelly’s photography project represents London’s ethnic
diversity.
EVIDENCE:
• His photographs represent 202 of the countries participating in the 2012
Olympic games.
• He would travel all over London and even stop people in the street to
find people to photograph.
• He found people from places such as the Solomon Islands and Mali, but
also included some who had never been to the country they represent,
like Adam from Haiti whose mother is Haitian.