Superimpose

Tuesday June 14th, 2011

Recently, our England-based photographer Ben Mostyn discovered Bermondsey Village. Bermondsey used to be an underdeveloped and poverty-stricken district of south east London but has turned around, and within the last ten years has seen a cultural renaissance. The area is quickly becoming the sought-after location for London artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs. Ben and his wife Anya realized how much talent was located in this one area of London and set out to document unique Bermondsey individuals and organizations that they thought deserved some attention.

Ben and Anya decided that the best way to do this was to create an online journal. They set up their site and called it Superimpose Magazine. The goal was for the site to act as a visual directory of individuals and organizations adding richness to their local community. It was also a great way to highlight Ben and his wife’s photo skills and have a fun ongoing personal project to run alongside their freelance work.

What makes Superimpose even more interesting is that each feature posted on Superimpose includes not only an interview, but a photo essay and HD video. So far they’ve been able to feature many interesting characters and businesses such as a local fashion designer, bike shop, illustrator, musician, vintage market, brewery, coffee shop and local charity.

However, getting the magazine started wasn’t exactly easy. Ben explained,

It took about 3 months to consider our options and plan a working strategy. Initially, we considered running the magazine in print form, but with the high cost of production and the ever-increasing popularity of the iPad etc, it seemed smarter to go digital for the time being. We did a huge amount of research on potential subjects and just started contacting people.

Now that the project has gotten on its way, its become quite popular. For Ben and Anya, the best part of this ongoing project is getting to meet so many great people. I asked Ben about some of his favorite subjects so far,

This project has provided some interesting meetings with people that we wouldn’t necessarily get to talk with. The bike shop feature was really unexpected: the owner, Thor, turned out to be the most generous and innovative person we’ve ever met. He makes a point of recycling absolutely everything that comes in and out of his shop—nothing goes to waste. For example, he used the leather off an old sofa to make awesome motorcycle jackets, and turns bits of waste piping into custom made bikes that look better than anything you could buy brand new. He also donates bikes to kids living in poorer areas of the city, and often will work for free if someone is struggling financially. It was people like Thor that we were hoping we’d get to feature in this project; the real characters and unsung heroes.

The response to Superimpose has been incredibly positive and Ben and Anya now have over twenty features in the pipeline. Their biggest problem now is just finding enough time in the day!

- Maria