Winterlude 2013

Transformations, - sometimes it’s all about transformations.  Sometimes I feel like I’m lazily wandering around the same square mile and repeatedly photographing the same things.  Then I remember that’s kind of the point really and that a significant part of my whole creative practice is to observe and record the processes of perpetual alteration, (both major and minor), within the environments I pass through.  So, whilst I’m always on the lookout for stimulating new locations, revisiting the same sites repeatedly over time is also a perfectly valid strategy for documenting those changes, even if they are simply climatic.

Please Tell Me No One Sleeps In Here

I was planning a trip over to Birmingham with the camera this weekend in an attempt to expand my horizons but as the white stuff fell from the sky, making driving and walking major challenges, I decided to just keep it local instead.  Rather than exploring texts, physical changes and general entropy in a different town, I found myself documenting my local neighbourhood in snowy conditions all over again.

Last year, I did this regular walk in crisp, clean snow and bright sunlight and the whole experience was quite uplifting.  This time, the scene was cast in flat, grey light with a hint of dull yellow in the sky that speaks of more snow to come.  There was a partial thaw with a lot of grimy slush, dripping water and a general atmosphere of gloom and despondency around the place.  Somehow, it all seemed too much like a reflection of the general national mood at present, (or is it just mine?).  The sound-muffling effects of the snow and reduced traffic levels suggested frustrated human activity and my walk was heralded by distant sirens as people broke their hips and played bumper cars in the background.

My photos became all about bleakness and, just as I began to suspect I was over-romanticizing it all into a big Cold War/Eastern European cliche, I found an old Trabant laid-up in a breaker’s yard.  Reality will bite you on the bum every time!