The Project

I was offered the chance to visit the Olympic Park in London while it was under construction along with a group of selected local artists. I was free to respond in any way I chose.

The Group

The group was interesting being formed of traditional sketchers, sculptors, installation artists and the views of the park and it's venues were a rare chance to gain access to this quite incredible and vast site. I had watched the site take shape from a far as it was cleared from industrial waste land into a modern park with impressive sports facilities. I chose to document the site with photographs as we only had one day and there was much to see. Having mixed feelings about the site and the consequences of it's construction, I chose to produce a series of 6 photo composites which I'll explain as I go through them.

Set of 6 Prints (1 set of 2 is available to buy)

The finished set was printed on to mount board and included in a group exhibition at Sclater Street gallery near Brick Lane and I was later invited to exhibit them at the Hackney Museum where there was a mixed media exhibition about the construction of the Olympic Park. I had them reprinted onto MDF block for this show. I have 2 sets. If anyone would like to buy a set, I would gladly accept SBD for them. If you're interested message me.

Construction Minutiae

This image combines the muddy footprints of many repeated trips by worker's boots across a temporary roof with an aerial shot of a digger. What interested me about these elements was the transient nature of things which only existed as support for that which was being constructed. Things which would be gone when the park was finished.

BootWash

This ingenious device was another transient element, built from standard construction site elements and was improvised at the entrance to the clean planning offices where teams of engineers carefully worked out what went where and when by whom. A metal tank half filled with water is flanked by broom heads at the width of an average worker's boot. The mud from the sides of the boot is brushed off and the boot is rinsed clean. The image is superimposed with another image of a mud-stained temporary roof.

Kaleidoscope Tower - Aquatics Centre Strut

This image was taken with a small kaleidoscopic filter. Producing a faceted image it conveys a multiplicity of viewpoints from slightly different vantages. Here we can see one of the corner struts of the Aquatics Centre by the late Zaha Hadid
against the skeleton of a soon to be tower.

Power Plant Junction Box

This kaleidoscopic image of the park's power plant, which was manufactured from recycled steel found on the site is combined with an image of an unfinished junction box and it's incredibly complicated wiring. Considering the almost unfathomable networks of cable which bring the park to life, reliably and safely brings to mind relationships between bodies and their networks of intricate complexity.

Scaffolding 1

The following two images of scaffolding bars were deliberately framed against the new blocks of apartments which were springing up around the park's perimeter. They deal with two conflicting and complementary ideas. One which is the symbology of scaffolding, that which supports until no longer required and about the economic cleansing of a poor area in favour of the monied classes.

Scaffolding 2

The Park and the Olympics was sold to the public as a regeneration of the area and the scaffolding of investment was meant to bring the area 'up to standard'. This was the legacy aspect of the project. While the Westifeld shopping centre has been a tremendous success, for Westfield and the upgraded rail networks has made Stratford an attractive place to work, live and invest in, I often wonder what was the fate of some of the long term residents who were most probably relocated and rehoused to outer London boroughs. so in this respect the images are a double edged sword.