PUBLIC PROTECTION, PRIVATE COLLECTION
2016
Vinyl, timber, photographic prints on acrylic, C-type print, thermal insulation, concrete, strip lights, dust sheets, foam
This installation was presented at Space In Between, London, and was generously supported by Arts Council England. It also includes work supported by ING, Amsterdam, and previous works which were made possible by the continuing support of Metro Imaging.
Using stolen ballast from local sites of luxury development and the raw materials associated with construction and regeneration, this sprawling installation addresses the complex make-up of the urban fabric. Using a language that has become commonplace within the narrative of urban renewal the photographic work installed within the structure adopts the pastel hues and image-making methodologies used to describe the proclaimed opulence of city-living. But rather than the sun-kissed fantasy described by developers, the viewer is invited into a world which anticipates them in ruin. Images that have been excavated from the virtual space of the rendered architectural proposition lay discarded, whilst the audience navigates through a familiar system to protect them from the upturned city.
An accompanying exhibition text by Douglas Murphy can be accessed here
