Wednesday 25 July 2018

Undetectable Peices - BRICK

Last summer I dug up a Leamington brick in my garden.


I was curious, and a little googling turned up a brief history of Leamington Brick Company. The location of the former kiln and clay pit is now near the centre of town. I also learned there was nothing left of the buildings and little obvious earth-workings, but I had some spare minutes so I went to see.

Nothing remains apart from a road name: 'Kiln Close'. There's a grassed park, Villiars Street Park; no more than some trees, a circular path and a play area enclosed by housing.


The houses were built with a different brick to mine; lighter, patchy and orange, whereas mine are more uniform in colour, although they vary brick to brick from light pink to blushed red and burnt purple-brown. My place was built in 1957, and, seeing as the brick company ceased to trade mid-century, it's fair to assume the brick I dug up could have been one of the last to be fired.

This is the park:




Panoramic view makes it look bigger and more dramatic than it does in reality, still, it's strange to think of this small park as once being an industrial landscape. It doesn't seem the type; it looks too subdued, and as if it's always been here.

Changing land use is the story of western capitalist progress though. At one time Warwickshire was dotted with brickworks using the clay deposits within the swathe of Mercia Mudstone that stretches in a curve across the UK from North East to South West and which underlies much of the West Midlands. So just West of Campion Hill, there once would have been several large one or two storey brick buildings and at least one tall, smoking kiln chimney. At one time probably notable in the landscape but now completely erased. Perhaps the claypit was exhausted, or the business no longer viable as bricks became available cheaper elsewhere. Maybe it was more profitable to sell the land for housing. 

In the twentieth century much of the UK's manufacturing was replaced by service industry. Land use follows this, for as a park this land now services the leisure requirements of the nearby population.

I'm interested in this town's growth. Since I am witnessing it expand before my eyes right now, somehow it makes sense to trace the story of its growth backwards too. Although little trace remains of Leamington's brickworks, another, at Napton on the Hill, outlasted it by decades. Although it too is gone, the site is visible. Although local consultation is underway for building 80 more new homes on its brownfield-classed site, so that may be worth exploring soon.




Tuesday 17 July 2018

Observation Stations - wOrk lOg



Observation Stations (OS) can be understood as being... :

Image result for observation station
Blue Mountain Fire Observation Tower, New York

S t r u c t u r e s
::::: isolated from the observer
::::: that stands out from its surroundings...  ...or is to some degree    hidden.
:::::
Drone
Weather Station

Spy Satellite
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Visible Observation Stations are intended to be continuously functional. Remarkability within their environment contributes to endurance, (helps them to be found within the wilderness) whilst the tenure of hidden Observation Stations may be temporary and possibly self-limiting. Both gregarious and veiled Observation Stations are be static or moving, however secrecy is better maintained by the ability to constantly relocate: such as with the Spy Satellite.


A c t s
::::: of looking intensely
:::::: for differences
:::::: of recording :::::: writing :::::: drawing :::::: making images

Karl Popper: 'looking with a question in mind'
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Observation Stations do not draw conclusions; final judgement is reserved for others, but selection is so essential to the act of observing that the act is inherently judgemental.

Observation Stations are intrinsically linked with reporting, judgement, conclusion and decision-making.


S p a c e s
::::: to contain the structure and act of observing
::::: a place, or a person e.g.
:::::
a speed camera
a private investigator
a weather station
a studio
a bird hide
a surveillance vehicle
::::: 


A c t o r s
Observation Stations are mindless means of amassing information. Contained within organisations that perform other functions, their natures become obfuscated by the actions and reputation of the organisation. This leads to a certain wariness within the general population as to the character of Observation Stations. Examples of Observation Stations being actors are: 
::::: newspapers
::::: DVLA
::::: lookout posts
::::: artists
::::: politicians

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Frequent visits from human handler.


Comments encouraged.

Silver Houses - Work

(Persimmon) Silver House



Silver House. Photoshop.jpg v2
Polar B&W created from original, then mask filled with photoshop transparent background pattern firstly in grey and white then black and white, transposed with Silver House in Pantone 572 with Observation Station in Pantone 163.