This photograph epitomises the mood of my photographs from the last two years. Having not been able to scan them until less than a week ago, I’ve been somewhat in the dark about how my work actually looks. With the exception of about 15 frames, all my medium format films depict my hometown of Uttoxeter. And the majority of these images show it looking kind of shabby. See above image.
There’s a heavy-handedness that I’ve noticed in the work. This image is admittedly a more extreme example, but it’s still quite noticeable throughout. In Plymouth, it was much easier to make light and airy photos. There are a lot of colours and shades Plymouth can be, but Uttoxeter is a medium grey town. A lot of the images look stodgy and dull. It’s a little disappointing, but at the same time, it hits the nail on the head. It’s pretty much just how this town is as of late.
The book I made of Uttoxeter as part of my Faith project, Midlander, presented it as an ordinary but austere place, and the work was very much about my disconnect with somewhere I know so well. But this is less about me, and more about the location itself. It feels really hopeless and lifeless. It’s beyond austere now - it looks dilapidated and dismissed, and kind of tragic. I photographed the same overlapping fence 2 years ago (I’ll put it below) and just look at the difference.Â
Life existed, but it’s since been sapped out. Maybe I can try to be inspired by the deadness of it all. Or is that too contrary even for me?
