A Different Perspective

I found myself in Warrington, following an impromptu trip on the train. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of independent shops and the way the shopping areas spanned out like a spider’s web, from a central undercover social area. As I sauntered through the streets, a construction site caught my eye, and I couldn’t tear myself away from a building which was in mid-demolition.

The original image captured on my phone.

I’m not sure if it was the cloud formations behind at the time, the weather in general, the environment, or mood I was currently in, but I was really drawn to this structure and immediately tried to capture it the best I could.

It seemed to speak to me on so many levels, and raise many questions in my mind. They were about to tear down a piece of history, and here I was witnessing the remains for the final time. Commuters, shoppers and locals, quickly shuffled by, seemingly unaware of what was happening before them; perhaps just another development to them.

I could see into the internal rooms, walls, floors and ceilings of some of the building and couldn’t help but wonder with huge fascination, what had gone on in those rooms over the course of it’s history. It was incredibly brutalist, but equally beautiful, and I had never seen anything like this up close. I mean, sure, I have seen countless developments and construction sites, but this, just seemed different.

It made me sad, but initially I couldn’t understand why. Maybe the memories that would come crashing down, along with the building, the community and heritage that had attachments to it. I also found myself interested in it’s components, the materials. I could see the top of a hose, where workmen were spraying the materials, presumably to avoid huge dust clouds as the building was demolished, bit by bit.

I would certainly like to explore these materials further. I thought about returning and asking if I could have a piece of the structure. It speaks metaphorically to me on varying levels. Divisions, destruction, birth and death. The demise of an era and rebirth of another, and perhaps, the gentrification of this historic town.

Mid -Demolition

I put a monochrome filter on the image on my return home. I wanted to see the impact of the image without colour.