The picture started with a photo I took of a Funfair Swing Ride at the Royal Norfolk Show. I was going to substitute the people on the chained swings with something else (?). Then I placed the ride in a big marquee tent at the show. I liked the roof of the exhibition tent, which had sheep and goats being penned/displayed. The next stage was to perversely replace the riders with coat hangers ..are you keeping up so far?, this is where I got lost! I photographed a collection of different coat hangers. I decided to dispose of the funfair ride, and populate the magnificent tent with the coat hangers. I had to find and photograph MORE coat hangers zzzzzzzzz…..The picture took a long time to create, but I was pleased with the result.
Cromer Pier
This is a view of Cromer Pier from the cliffs at Overstrand, near the eastern edge of the golf links. The sky, is of the tyre tracks on the beach, of an amphibious vehicle that takes the paying public on a trip along the Hunstanton coastline. The so called Wash Monsters are run by Searle Sea Tours. I have turned the photo upside down and coloured it blue. I also applied a filter to soften the image. The couple in the bottom right hand corner were photographed from the cliff top at Cromer. They were below Tucker St., and I thought they might like a different view to observe.
Soliloquy
I was cleaning my walk-in shower cubicle, so I pulled the PVC curtain out of the way and bunched it up into the recess, between the sink and the medicine cabinet. I have used this scenario before, with ‘Two Bridges, One Sink’. The cabinet is an old metrological box for outdoor weather measurements. I stretched and distorted it a bit to convey movement and stress. On top of the box is a porcelain jewellery container that used to belong to Sue, of a contemplating Pierrot (famous French clown). I reduced his actual size, to make him look more vulnerable in the stormy environment with the dark clouds and rough sea (Brighton Beach), as he makes his plaintive soliloquy. The curtains add to the effect, suggesting strong winds. For me, this illustrates the last fourteen years since Sue passed away. X
Heavy Metal Secured
Walking along the quay at Blakeney, I noticed the cleats, spaced regularly along the edge of the dock, which had the ropes securing the boats in the water. I liked the different way the ties were secured around the metal posts. The heavy chain links were on the quay at Great Yarmouth. The picture was developed, as I introduced and arranged the subjects. I extended the ropes, because of course, their lengths are limited by the photo frame. I duplicated a couple of lines also.
Triptych Bridge
I noticed the whitewashed windows of a closed down pub on Redwell St. I liked the arbitrary way the wash was applied (on the inside). You can see the reflection of a block of offices opposite. There are three photos collaged together, hence Tripytch. The bridge is Lady Julian Bridge, which was silhouetted at the time, and was being decorated with a string of electric lights, for some later event. Notice the stepladder. I turned the lights on in the computer, and copied and strung some more off the structure.
Untitled No.43
Gone are the days of tin openers! I have a number of cans in my larder, and I noticed that the ring pull tops are of a different design – not as universal as one might think. That was my starting point. Looking to find a background or sympathetic situation, I came across a photo I took of my metallic kitchen sink, that I had rejected for a previous collage. I had smeared cooking oil in the basin to create water globules. To emulate the theme, I photographed the tops of the cans separately, following the same process, and then reduced their opacity to reveal the sink and slightly overlapping the cans.
Street Dance
This is the meeting of Muspole St., St.Andrews Hill, London St., Bedford St. and Whitefriars Bridge, behind the law courts. Confused? I am too. I like the way the triangular tops of the industrial building (the old St.George’s Works complex), reflect the coloured cobble stones, and the cut paving slabs. Also, the round windows, mirroring the knobs on top of the railings. But best of all, the railing posts, dancing across the street!
Self Portrait
I pretended to take a photo of Simon (the Chef), but he hid behind the book he was reading. Interestingly he presented the text pages, and not the front and back covers, as one might expect. I asked him to hold that pose, and rushed to get my camera for the real shot. He refused to recreate the pose, so I asked him to photograph me, assuming the same attitude. He can cook, but he can’t take a photo (ha ha). The result was blurred and out of focus. So… I got my mother to photograph me a couple of days later. I experimented with some scenarios, until I happily settled for a warehouse I photographed in Australia. I included a photo I had of some sparks (isolated) that were being given off by an industrial grinder. I thought that it gave the picture some magic and movement.
Building A Liferaft
This is Pieter, who is a skilled carpenter and builder, and works at Wiveton Hall. As you might guess, he is Dutch because he wears handmade clogs and eats lots of cheese (ha ha). He was making a cupboard door for the newly refurbished gift shop. I was helping (?) him at the time. Pieter was outside and peering to see if the horizontal bracing plank was aligned. To me he looked as though he was surf boarding! The actual surf was a photo of the water taken looking down from Cromer Pier, and the planks of wood were here in Norwich at the new development at St.James Quay. I turned the water green to reflect the painted wood.
That Spaceship Feeling
The printing press belonged to Edvard Munch and can be be seen in the Munchmuseet in Oslo. Munch was of course famous for his painting and subsequent prints ‘The Scream’; the prints were produced on this press. The picture is set in an Orangery, but I cannot remember which grand house in Norfolk this was, Felbrigg? What I did was to photograph the room from either end (it only had one side of windows, with a bare wall on the opposing side), and joined the two aspects together. I cut out the window panes, to reveal a Norfolk landscape behind. The blue sky was also added. The title was inspired by the star shape component (the pressure roller arm?) of the lithographic press.