This picture became a bit of a long process, to come to its final conclusion. The ‘sky’ was a lime green wall, falling into disrepair, at a car wash station on the Sprowston Road. The water tower (?) is in the Lion Wood Local Nature Reserve, just off Telegraph lane. The other two structures are part of Earlham Crematorium. There is a tall oblong tower that sits between the apex and the chimney, that I eventually removed. I came across the ceremonial complex and was struck by the different shapes, in the bright sunshine. The spheres and cubes were introduced later. I was thinking of Cezannes quote about nature comprising of a cylinder, sphere and cone when I started this image. A lot of adding and subtracting, and then cutting through the objects was employed before I settled for the end result. Truly, a potboiler!
Social Platforming
This is the newly pedestrianised Westlegate, by Jarrolds department store. I have replaced the plants that are on a raised bed, behind the low brick wall. I was interested in the swirls and straight lines of the brick work., and the colours which I accentuated. The two mannequin heads were in a fashion shop window, just around the corner, on All Saints. The title became apparent as I was constructing the picture. Look closely, and you can see my reflection, on the jaw of the head on the left.
Key To The Gate
These three elements were photographed individually, on the same day. There was no plan, but they fell in together quite well. The arched front door belongs to the old Bethel Hospital, founded 1713 by Mary Chapman, which has become residential flats. I liked the way the early morning sun lit the edifice. I cut away the door, to reveal the front cover of my doorbell, which is connected to the button outside. It was made by Friesland of Stockport…for you doorbell buffs, out there. I found the padlock lying in the road, so I propped it up and photographed it, as you do! These three objects, as I said, seemed perfect for each other.
It All Leans To The Left
London Street in Norwich was the first to become pedestrianised in the country, fifty years ago. So it was deemed about time to be refurbished, with the paving work and street furniture replaced. This newly installed curving public bench, can be found at the Bank Plain end of the street. I came across it during the Covid-19 lockdown, so it was unused. I have placed it on the South Quay in Yarmouth, which was equally devoid of people and vehicles. The building/factory on the horizon, is on the Great Eastern Highway (94), along the way to Kalgoorlie WA. I have used it in another picture (Escape), but is a different shot. I distorted the angle of the building , liked it and kept it, hence the title!
Brick Klimt Bride
I was the photographer at my nieces wedding. Abbi is being helped into her dress, by the two bridesmaids, whose names I have forgotten, sorry I will rectify that. They are two on the right hand side of the composition. Behind Abbi is her sister Ellice, tightening the lace tie, and in the centre is my sister Jacquie. They were of course all wearing long silk dresses, so I have perversely replaced them with brick and pebble! Gustav Klimt was a nineteenth century symbolist painter, who lived and worked in Vienna. If you look at his style of painting, you will be able to understand why, I gave the title that I have. A very tenuous parallel.
Cornering
The B23, Main South Rd. runs down a hill and sweeps west to Sellicks Hill, and then on to Adelaide. It is here in a lay-by that a load of gravel had been dumped for roadworks. The curve is like turning a corner, that leads to the straight road onwards. Spread upon the pile of gravel, are protective brass corners, that I found myself polishing, before fixing them on to display boards. I was doing this for Ronaldo Ices who I used to work for. I delivered all around East Anglia and loved it, and Simon my boss. So.. I thought I would take the opportunity and photograph them. Obviously they are much larger in the picture than they would be, in relation to the pile. Cornering…geddit?
Peripheral Syncopation
There are four different elements to this picture. Firstly the piano, which was in a bar on St. Benedicts St., called Platform 12. It was known as the Piano Bar, It had live music and the piano was part of the furniture and regularly played. Sadly the venue has closed, as with most pubs. The spiral staircase is in the library. The chair was in the window of the Ten Bells PH, and the cobbled road can be found on Elm Hill. As usual i brought these images together by experimenting and rearranging. The title comes from the distortion of the road, which mirrors the curve of the piano. The curves in the chair and stairs, accentuate the composition.
Lattice Girl
I saw this dress makers modelling figurine, outside the Red Cross charity shop, on St. Benedicts St. I asked if I could photograph it, so I stood it against the plain wall next door to record it. The setting is a collage of two different landscapes in Australia. The pipes belong to a hydro electric generating station in Tasmania. The landscape beyond is somewhere between Cooma and Tatura in NSW, probably in the Wadbilliga National Park. I created the shadow on the crash barrier.
Out Of The Blue
I was fascinated by the red dice that you can see, because they looked wonderful. So I took a set of photos of the one dice, at different aspects, on the end of a pencil, attached by Blutac, near the window. I have thrown the resultant dice as a collage, from the gantry of a pit head winding column in Kalgoorlie W.A. The clouds probably came from somewhere else in Australia. This took a long time to conceive, render and finalise, but I was happy with the result.
A Shadow Of Its Former Self
I saw this fantastic shadow of a tree, cast against the side of a building in Colegate. I had a photograph, taken a couple of years previously, of a tree silhouetted by the sun. I married the two images, and hit upon the idea of substituting the dark image of the tree, with a sunlit lawn. The surprising result threw up great connotations.