Pavilion

Pavilion is a body of work that interrogates the polarising Apollo Pavilion public art structure in Peterlee. This work celebrates the possibilities of the Pavilion by examining the structure itself and the myriad of detail, form and texture that contribute to the work.

I created Pavilion partly as a reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak and the then ongoing lockdown situation. I found myself in a position where I was unable to travel far or meet people to create work. The Apollo Pavilion afforded me an opportunity to challenge myself by creating a series focussed entirely on one subject, a unique piece of public architecture. I was drawn to the now outdated Brutalist design, a once common but now largely reviled architectural style, as well as the obvious impact of the preceding decades on the structure.

Rather than making a photograph to simply reproduce the Pavilion, I have endeavoured to produce a collection of images that conveys a reality. I set myself the task of concentrating multiple experiences of the eye into a body of work that represents the full experience of the Pavilion.

I hope that by decontextualizing the whole object I can reconstruct it, piece by piece, into both its original shape, and new and exciting forms. By utilising light, shadow, and geometry it is possible to show hidden dimensions and facets to this immense Brutalist artwork, as each individual image is both a work by itself and a component of a greater whole.

This piece has enabled me to work as both a straight documentarian and as a creator, photographing the subject as both a record and an artwork, a portrait and the suggestion of a portrait. I propose to see not just the physical properties of the subject, but also the soul.