Walking along the South Quay in Yarmouth, I noticed those two buildings, lit up in the sunshine and looking sculptural. They are part of Great Yarmouth Fire Station, as seen from Charles St. I think the tall tower is a facility for training purposes. I introduced the roof beams from inside a church I came across. It is the fourteenth century All Saints in Thurgarton in mid-Norfolk. It is an historic ‘barn like’ thatched church. I blurred the image of little to help define the foreground. Tieing the composition together (geddit?) was a collection of hooks and screw pin bow shackles. These were dangling from the jib of an onboard crane of a supply ship, moored on the quay. I turned the image forty five degrees to compliment the composition. I also turned the buildings around and added a few more square air vents. I saturated the colours of the chain against the near monochrome background.
On The Huh
‘On the Huh’ is a Norfolk expression to describe something which is not level, e.g. a badly erected shelf or an awkwardly hung picture. I had, and still have a wooden compartmentalised display tray. Into this I ‘carved’ the words that you see ( in the computer of course!), using different fonts and sizes. At the same time I was looking through a DIY box of various tools and bric-a-brac, and came across some spirit levels. I liked the clear oblong level particularly. To be perverse I thought I would relocate the bubbles to impossible positions – I had a lot of fun doing so. The two aspects came from different perceptions/ideas and naturally linked together after realising the potential narrative.
Pessimism
Here are seven different views of the topiary garden, which is in the grounds of Wiveton Hall. I have of course collaged them together and added the sky and tree line behind them. Then there is the window which I have ‘draped’ on the foliage, as if to dry. This was at S-21 Tuol Slang, which was a secondary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was used by the Khymer Rouge as a jail/ torture centre before the unfortunate victims were driven to the infamous killing fields. Looking out from the schoolroom window (with bars) is Tom, my nephew. We visited the museum that it has now become. Ghastly. I placed some rusty metal chains behind Tom to accentuate the horror. Tom didn’t look too pleased either…I want to express natural beauty despite the human despair we witness.
White 3
Sometimes I will look through pictures I have done in the past, and might re-edit and alter them. This image was created nine years ago (at the time of writing) and was what one would call a still life. Consisting of rumpled sheets and pillows and a (collective noun?) of cotton buds. I have included the swan which I photographed a few weeks ago, looking down on it from the river bank. You can see that I made it seem to be nestled behind the cotton buds. I brightened picture from the original and applied a filter to make the image softer. I had to colour the swans beak. Number four denotes the transitions I went through to arrive at this stage.
Tight Cornering
I noticed this tractor on the slipway by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution building, on the Promenade at Cromer. The tractors are used to manoeuvre fishing boats in and out of the water. I was drawn to this vehicle because it was covered with protective tarpaulins (even the seat). I liked the white sand covering the tyres. I looked like an installation. I have of course, dragged and stretched the image like plasticine to give the impression of movement. The background is sympathetic. This is a photograph of tables and chairs stacked outside a restaurant, covered in a weather protecting tarpaulin. The pavement in the bottom left hand corner was part of the photo. I used a similar photo in a picture entitled ‘White And Grey’. The grille of the tractor had regular air holes – I have altered them to be perverse and for effect. I applied a filter to soften the image.
Under The Radar
This picture started with the two photographs from different angles, of the Bloodhound anti-aircraft missile which is on display in the grounds of RAF West Raynham. This is a museum devoted to the history of Radar. I then included a rear view of the tail plane, wing and exterior fuel tank of a Super Sabre fighter jet. The plane is exhibited at Flixton, Suffolk at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. I was just going to add a blue sky background, but decided that was predictable and boring. A bit later in time I was walking around Yarmouth and was struck by the overhanging street decorations above and along Regent Rd. I have doubled the image and reduced the opacity. I kept the graduated blue sky. The title came without any forethought.
There Is Life On Mars 2
Whilst this picture was starting to come together (beginning with the curve), I could hear David Bowie singing; yes Dave, there IS life on Mars! The curve is Wave Rock in Western Australia, one of many photos I took (see Surreal category header). The tyre marks in the sand were at Lowestoft, where the council smoothed the beach by redistributing the sand. I was out walking one day and noticed a big pile of tree trunks that were stacked ready to be taken away. Draped on top of the logs were some large, linked, articulated metal ribs. I didn’t know what they were but looked quite surreal. After some research I discovered they are Caterpillar Tracks that are wrapped around and fastened to the big pneumatic tyres found on Heavy Plant, e.g. cranes and JCBs. This gives the vehicle better grip and was obviously used during the forestry work that was done. I turned the landscape red, with the pink sky, in keeping with planets obvious attribute.
Fenced Off Tension 2
Walking along the Hunstanton beach front, I noticed the diminishing view of the Groynes that extend from the shore. They are wooden palisades that run for about a couple of hundred yards(?) out to sea. I took some photographs, naturally. Looking through my archives I noticed the pictures I took of some wire tensioners that secure the wire fence/barrier to each metal post. This is the safety barrier on Cromer Pier. I simply sized and arranged the tensioners to fit the composition. I desaturated the picture because it was generally monochrome anyway. I could have put this image in the Coastal category…..
Mast Amass
On South Quay at Yarmouth there are usually boats docked, that are involved with the gas industry. I was attracted to their masts which were festooned with radar scanners and various telecommunications equipment. I photographed the three vessels that were there. The structure on the right of the picture is a training tower which I saw at Cromer Fire Station on Canada Rd. The tower gives firemen the ability to practice exercise drills for what they might encounter. I threw the four items together and moved them around to my eventual satisfaction. I of course had to ‘cut them out’ from their original backgrounds. The background I picked was a photo I took of the corner of my room (lying down on the sofa looking up) which was lit from below. I applied a couple of filters to give it that mottled look. I accentuated the few colours that were in the photos. The rest of the image was filtered, hence the number 2 in the title. I always keep the original picture.
Three King Lane (Redo) 2
I have just found the original collage that I did with Pritstick and end-prints onto card, back in 1992! I eventually photographed it on transparency and scanned it into the computer. I edited the electronic file in 2019, hence the (Redo) in the title. Now I have re re-edited the image and included it on the website. Three King Lane is a pedestrian alleyway that runs down from Pottergate to St. Margaret’s Church on St. Benedicts St. Back in 1992 the lane had be refurbished with brickwork and manhole covers (can I say MAN hole?, or should it be maintenance access covers?) – there were lots of them so I photographed and collaged the selected few. Not all the covers made it onto the final piece.