Title: "Urban Narrative"
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I went for a walk today along the Ross Bay sea wall. The last time I walked along this area, I had noticed some of the wall was decaying, and there were interesting patterns of repair patches, cracks and rust. I had it in mind to come back with the 4X5 camera to make a series of images, although the walkway is extremely busy with walkers and joggers, and I wasn't sure exactly how I would set up the camera in order to make the images with all that traffic. I decided today that I would just use my little digital P&S to get a feeling for what the images might look like if I undertook a full project here.
Apparently I'm not the only one who finds these patterns of decay interesting. I find it extremely interesting that the addition someone else made of a single eye with chalk immediately sets up a narrative. Is momma watching over her brood at the far left? Are the young ones taking their first steps of independence? If you were to ask me what my interest in these sea wall panels were, I would have said that to me there were interesting "found" abstract compositions of accidental mark making, tones and layered textures. I've written before that if I can see something representational in an abstract composition, it loses its charm for me. And yet here I find the relationship between the "mother" and "brood" very compelling. The random marks made on this panel through decay have created a composition that lends itself perfectly to an imagined narrative.
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