London and New York have been inextricably linked ever since the early American settlers who left from Rotherhithe. For London, July 7^th 2005 was another indication of the gravity of this relationship. The post 9/11 New York that I found was an optimistic city. New Yorkers were enjoying their city. The very real absence of the World Trade Centre belies the real presence of disbelief and incomprehension at the horrific events of that day.

The majority of these paintings are the results of 10 days of walking and cycling around the city, making drawings all the time. The paintings are composites of all the drawings. In them you will find all the dreams and dreamers, love, violence, tragedy, boredom, exhaustion, the hopeful and the hopeless that I witnessed on my walks. From Amish people on the subway to joggers on Brooklyn Heights I have tried to capture a snapshot of the city in the limited time that I had.

Despite the optimism of the New Yorkers, I noted that the ghettos of Brighton Beach and Harlem that I had witnessed on a previous visit ten years earlier remained unchanged. Increasingly Londoners are celebrating the multicultural mix that makes this city unique. If we are to continue to progress as a city we must recognise integration as a key factor in achieving this aim.

My thanks go to Davide Mengoli for allowing me to continue to grow as an artist, to Nick Cohn for his book about New York entitled ‘The Heart of the World’ and to Shane Macgowan of the Pogues for musical inspiration.

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