Shadows of Industry

Artist Statement

We live in an ever changing world and this applies equally to the architecture that surrounds us. Here in the North of England the textile industry is now all but forgotten. The titanic mills that once graced the landscape are changing, many fall into ruin and decay in the end being reduced to nothing more than a pile of rubble in order to make way for another modern featureless concrete and glass monstrosity. A few however, the lucky ones get a second chance at life, they are redeveloped into offices and homes and while they are often modernised the heart and soul of the building remains.

These photographs were created during the hours of darkness; while most people are safely in the comfort of their homes away from the mystery and the danger hiding in the darkness the world around us changes. A truly man-made landscape, mans architectural creations lit with the glow of tungsten, sodium and fluorescent. It is often a solitary world the redeveloped industrial complexes all bustling places during the daylight hours fall quietly into the darkness. The world is asleep, devoid of human presence and will remain, only to be woken by the first rays of dawn and the footsteps of commuters.

In the relatively short time I have been producing these photographs I have observed changes in the environment the relentless march of development continues and some of these mills no longer exist wiped from this earth, a piece of history destroyed forever. These photographs are a document, a moment in space and time, a snap shot of what once was and sadly as time moves on these photographs will become more of a history lesson to our industrial heritage.

Each photograph is a intimate handmade platinum print that combines both digital capture and the traditional platinum printing (platinotype) method patented by William Wallis in 1873. A sheet of watercolour paper is coated by hand with a platinum sensitiser solution before being contact printed under a high power UV light source, the print is developed in and passed through three clearing baths to ensure maximum permanence before being throughly washed and air dried. Each print measure just under 9 x 6 inches and is available in a limited edition of just 15.