This
remains one of all-time favourite images for many reasons.
It is about time and history, and embodies something of the Japanese
concept of
wabi-sabi. I
first encountered this back in the 1970s, courtesy of Dr Paul Whittle at
the University of Cambridge, where I was working at the time. It cropped
up during a conversation with him whilst on a coffee break and I've never
forgotten it. It's only in recent years that I've come to consider it in
connection with my photography however.
The image above was also used on the poster for my first exhibition,
Build
Up,
held at a photographic gallery in my old home town of Southend-on-Sea,
Essex, UK.
It reminds me of a
photograph by Walker Evans,
that I've always admired and that was also about corrugated iron, time
and erosion.
MPP Field Camera 150mm, Plus-X Sheet Film