Abandonment and project starting points

As a child and living in Wales I was surrounded by ruins, all of which held ancient stories and secrets. I would often spend much of my summer wandering around castles, finding part hidden walls and houses that had been abandoned. This continued as I got older and moved to the city. The city revealed altogether different settings; old disused canals and factories, derelict hospitals and graffiti. Over time I developed a strange fascination with derelict buildings and knew I wanted to use it in some way.

     

     

Photographs that capture elements of dereliction and abandonment in Nottingham.

Alongside my aesthetic interests I also developed a keen interest in reading and watching post-apocalyptic/dystopian books and films. Through that I became fascinated by society’s obsession with ‘end of world’ scenarios and oppressive situations.

Whether it reveals something about the human condition or our ability to survive against the odds, it’s hard to say, but from a design point of view–it allows for some interesting research.

My plan is to look at post-apocalyptic films that often use abandonment, dereliction, war-torn landscapes alongside dystopian films that  generally show futuristic, oppressive, claustrophobic or controlling environments. Sometimes the two combine into one film.  Both are classed as science fiction. Both types of film have requirements and constraints story wise and  I want to look at these in conjunction with the practical approaches, such as location verses the built/devised set.

This journal will document my journey and will include photos, research into existing films, sketchbook work and experiment, the development of new skills, side projects and the realisation of a final design brief in which I aim to use a novel to create designs for film.

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