This striking tableau has four different elements in the composition. From the top is a close up of the Sterling Steam Locomotive which is exhibited at the National Railway Museum in York. I have intentionally distorted the photo and applied a filter to soften the image. Secondly is the promenade and steps down to Cromer beach, I discarded the sand beyond, in the original shot. The same can be said of the third element, a step bridge over a groyne in Sheringham. Lastly there is Kevin. I photographed him a few years ago, at a party in someone’s back garden. I took a few pictures and have selected this one. My usual modus operandi is to trawl through my photo library and throw some images together that could form a narrative. Usually I will keep some and replace or reject them. The title came about simply because I liked the rhyming Kevin and Heaven, and it fitted the picture.
Blowing (Hot And Cold)
Walking along Upper Saint Giles St. I saw these taps in a display window. The shop in question is Stiffkey Bathrooms (89 Upper St. Giles St.) who deal in antique bathroom furniture. I liked the taps arranged in a semicircle, so I had to photograph them (with your permission Danny and Marc?). I have edited some of the taps from the photo to retain the composition. I also turned the arrangement around (mirror imaged) so I had to edit the HOT and COLD signs on the tops. I had an unfinished picture which is the blanket and pyjama trousers; I didn’t know what to do with, but….it matched as a background. I have doubled the image and applied a filter. I kept the black border for effect.
A Study In Rust
Walking across the Novi Sad bridge, I looked down on a new building development. The bridge runs between Wherrymans Way and Rouen Rd./ King St. The new building will be a block of flats on a redeveloped site which was part of the Ferry Boat pub premises (where I met Sue). The pub has been re-configured and become a residential property. What I was looking at is a large concrete base with metalwork and concrete piers being secured and reinforced. Here are all those metal (iron/steel?) rods and girders that have been lowered into the site for assembly. I introduced the baskets as an experiment and realised that they seemed to ‘click’ into place. These were being displayed outside a flower shop in Cromer. The shop is named Constance And Thyme at No. 3 Garden St. I edited the original photo. I have also heavily edited the building site photograph, getting rid of extraneous rubbish and hoisting straps etc. The red hue informed the title.
I Give Up!
Driving along the B1105 Wells Rd. from Fakenham, one comes across a group of cottages on the skyline. They stand out in the sunshine because they are painted pink with red roofs. They are situated on the crossroad with the Egmere Rd. which goes to Little Walsingham. I had to stop the car and photograph them. I have placed them on the horizon of some mudflats on the East Fleet river along from Wells Harbour. I have perversely put a lawnmower (sunk in the mud) which I saw on the bowling greens at Yarmouth. These are on Marine Parade, next to Britannia Pier. I added the blue sky and extended it vertically to give the composition more space. The title came at the end, as one could imagine someone’s exasperation at pursuing a nonsensical endeavour.
Bazookas And Boomerangs
Don’t ask….but somehow I came up with two words from different directions and unrelated thought processes. I think that they are distinctive and vibrant words; and in themselves, extraordinary objects. The two words seemed to fit together. I therefore set about designing the unique typography, that would describe their ‘personas’. Not much else to say about this picture. I enjoyed the project. The background is a Photoshop ‘off the shelf’ template.
Untitled No.67 Part 2
Part 2, because this is another photograph I took of the vaulted ceiling in Westminster Abbey. I have introduced the Portsmouth Spinnaker, the Great Yarmouth Observation Wheel and the gently graduated steps curving down from the War Memorial in Norwich. The first thing to point out is the disparity in sizes between these elements. The ceiling in the Abbey is 31 metres high. The Spinnaker is 170 metres, and the Ferris Wheel stands at 50 metres. An impossible fit. The Wheel was viewed side on, with the pods removed for winter storage. The curved steps that run down from the City Hall to the market, is of course a different size to the roof (and I’ve turned the image vertically). I fitted them into a blank wall above the divide between the Nave and the Apse/Altar at the other end. I collaged them in to accentuate the swirling effect, reflected in the Spinnaker.
Hook Line And Curve 3
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.