A hectic day in the city

I always remember my tutors exclaiming their dismay at the Arcelor Mittal Orbit Tower at London's Olympic Park. But this is where, as a fully fledged graduate, I come to defy them.

I spent the day wondering around the park with my photography - enthusiastic friend Joe, before and after a casual swim in the Olympic Pool. Which was cool enough on its own, as my other friend's father put it "Think of all the famous athletes that have pissed in the same water you swam in." Before I went for gold in swimming though, we went up the orbital tower. It was really impressive. On top there's an almost 360' view for 20 miles in any direction around London, made even more amazing by inverted mirrors which obscure and enlarge or shrink the skyline depending upon where you stand. That wasn't even my favourite bit though. Coming down the very long spiralling staircase, a series of speakers replay a collection of random sounds from around the city - from play parks to construction sites with everything, including football stadiums, in between. It was an interesting way of capturing a city's culture and the daily life within it, as my other friend's cynical father put it "Did they record a shooting?"

After a few other escapades, including photographing monty pythons life size parrot at the o2 and the swim, we began to wonder around the numerous curiosities of the park. It was after an astonishing sunset that I got to see the Orbit Tower in it's full glory, at night. My aforementioned tutors said they thought the sculpture, which is the tallest in the UK by the way and triumphs the Statue of Liberty, was 'ugly'. But I don't believe beauty is just about being pretty. I believe beauty is about capturing truth, perspective and culture. If you contrast the Orbital Tower - a cultural icon - to the statue of liberty, which stands for democracy and for order, then the orbital tower, with it's disjoints and disorder which is all together whole, stands for the truth and for the chaos that is in everyday life.