Opening this week at Sprueth Magers London is Bernd and Hilla Becher’s first solo show in London in over 15 years. The duo, who first met in 1959 and who have been exhibiting together since 1963, became known as two of the most influential figures in contemporary photography via their approach to the representation of industrial infrastructure through the lens.

It was ultimately through the pair’s photography of industrial buildings in post-war Germany that it all stemmed – their systematic documenting of the ominous and unforgiving lines of cooling towers, gas tanks, coal bunkers and their edifices quickly drawing observations of repetition and likeness that they began to pair together in groups similar to the way biologists’ fieldwork pulls living specimens.

Expect to see the duo’s classic grids and typologies in this new exhibit, with work dates ranging from the late 1960s through to the late 90s. Yes, the physical subject matter may seem outdated in form and function. But keep in mind that it’s less the buildings themselves and more their symbolism within the social context that forms the language here. Take Tom Pudding Hoist (1997), depicting a vernacular structure used for transferring coal along the River Ouse in Goole, Yorkshire. An anonymous structure, totally mundane, expresses its own significant cultural force under Bernd and Hilla Becher’s singular direction.

Bernd and Hilla Becher, until 4th October at Sprueth Magers London, 7A Grafton St, London W1S 4EJ