The Industrial Revolution: project summary for 2009-2010

The idea for this project was sparked upon my return to London following a four months stay in a fishing village in the North of Iceland. The contrast was stark: from living through the harshness of a winter by the artic circle, observing the dizzying patterns of the migratory birds and becoming part of the routine of the 400 villagers, I landed in a metropolis where a population of close to 10 million people share a space of little more than 1,500km².

Adjusting to the level of noise, the pollution and just the very fact of living with so many other fellow urban dwellers, I started wondering about the concept of the city: where did it come from, why would people choose to live in these giant urban conurbations, how did we end up choosing to exist in an artificially built environment where everything is easily available and consumed: warmth, food, entertainment but at the same time completely cut off from where we come from and belong – nature.

Industrialisation transformed how and where people lived. It all started in England at the end of the 18^th century: scientific innovations such as steam production, an expanding workforce and access to natural resources laid the foundations for this industrial explosion. The urban centres expanded or often even emerged: factories started producing goods on a scale never previously seen, while the canals, roads, railways and steamships built to transport these goods shaped the landscape.

Personally I am most interested in the structures that bear the mark of this early transformation but which have fallen into disuse due to new innovations or welfare concerns. Abandoned sites and discarded machinery that are viewed as scars on the landscape are interestingly being reclaimed by nature. My intention is to investigate these places, symbols of a bygone era, yet also the first witnesses of the industrialization, which has had such a profound influence on the society, environment and landscape in which we live.

I will develop this project further during my time at the Florence Art Trust in London and should will use a variety of materials including film, photography and painting. Updates will follow shortly on this website.

Great Eastern Launching Ramp, Isle of Dog, August 2009