Introducing 2012 The Place That Was

The Past Does Not Equal The Future
If the past is something which has happened there must have been some kind of permanence to know what has taken place. Without the past we cannot have the future, so what of the present.

 ' . . . photography enables us to see the past before the future has decided what it means' Michael Ignatieff (2007).



A Sense of Place
2012 The Place That Was is a collection of images which give a sense of place with a greater emphasis of the people who once occupied the space.  It is almost as if there whole area has been momentarily frozen; people and businesses momentarily forgotten.

The images have been purposely made using a film which accentuates colour. The viewer would normally expect to see images of a designated development area in either subdued colour or black-and-white.  By using vivid, deeply saturated colour the viewer is challenged to see the potential of an area which until now has been overlooked.


Temporary Buildings & People
Why no people in the images? There were local people who could have been included such as the two communities of travellers, Manor Garden Allotments and the businesses in and around Carpenters Road and Marsh Gate Lane. 

However the idea of permanence continually resonated the premise that bricks, mortar, concrete, builds are going to be there for ever, and then all of a sudden they are not. The idea of what people leave behind, how they attempt to leave their mark is more compelling.