Industry

Rough Idea No.3 for Progression Brief

Coinciding with my interest in the North of England, I would like to explore the industrial landscapes of England which lie predominantly north of Nottingham.

My dissertation is focusing on the effects of globalisation on photography. Globalisation is also affecting industry in the UK as products are now more likely to be sourced abroad due to the employment laws tending to be less restrictive; this results in cheaper labour as well as cheaper utility rates and (when needed) raw materials (as the materials are more likely to be locally sourced). For example, Scottish prawns are shipped to Belarus to be peeled due to cheaper labour. This has resulted in a high rate of employment in the UK and many local industries collapsing. Leeds for example used to be a pottery and engineering centre but due to globalisation and foreign trading these industries have died out and instead Leeds is now the second biggest financial city in the UK.

However I'm also torn between Globalisation and Space and Place.

Although this may not seem like much of a quandary, it is not just the industries that have died out. The communities built around these industries are disappearing and as towns are now not focused on their own trades instead they have the same shops and attractions as every other town. For example, Marks and Spencer's has over 700 stores in the UK alone, not counting the 300 stores worldwide in 40 different territories (as their website says). Tesco is even more advanced and boasts 2,316 stores in 13 countries. If that’s not globalisation I don’t know what is.

Perhaps the first industry that comes to mind is mining, rather than looking at the mining industry itself though such as the mines, equipment used or miners, for example, I would like to look at other aspects associated with mining towns. This would include the houses, traditionally back-to-back terraces. I dont want to look at mining though.

I prefer quarries ***images yet to be scanned of quarries***

Instead these are the images I used in my presentation. In hindsight I dont think it made any sense.

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Life After 2012.

Housing

Rough Idea No.2 for Progression Brief

The housing market is a hot topic in the British press, especially over the last few years with its boom and subsequent collapse. Although it has recently been highly dramatised, mostly given the recession, the housing market runs on a continuous wave like cycle of a rise and fall in prices. In terms of the physical houses themselves there are obviously a large variation in what is available given the numerous factors in play, i.e. location, plot size, type of property etc.

Basically I like architecture and houses have always interested me. I think I was brought up with this as a burden as I've grown up with the housing industry especially the building side. so the ins and outs of buildings are amazing. especially the Gaudi stuff in Barcelona. That heating system is something else! the space inside a house is very powerful. as is its outside presence. I think.

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Lake Tahoe Houses Pt.1.

Lake Tahoe Houses Pt.2.

They're in America. That's kind of what I would do if I went down this root but instead of being all interesting and different everytime I would focus on particular sets of houses. Maybe houses from different times. Create a typography of council houses...?!

For example...

Britishness

Rough Idea No.1 for Progression Brief

Britishness and what being British is are highly debated subjects in today’s climate given the high immigration rates.

Many photographers tackle the subject by means of social documentary

I however, would like to look at Britishness from a slightly different viewpoint, rather than look at the effects outside cultures are having on our cultural environment, I would like to explore the different ideas of Britishness in the separation of the North and South. It is common knowledge that there is a divide between the North and the South of England that stretches back quite far in history. There is a major difference in many aspects of the lives of northern and southern people, not only in language and dialect, but also in the cultural norms and values.

For example, the North is traditionally a Labour constituency whereas the South is more conservative, this can be akin to … been a greater sense of community in the North mostly due to the

To begin this project I would like to focus on generally British things such as the Little Chef. The Little Chef franchise has been around for 50?? Years and quickly became a common sight on A roads around the country, however due to globalisation amoungst other factors, they are now in decline as many Little Chefs are shutting down due to lack of custom across the country. EG OTLEY – ILKLEY ONE NOW A KASHMIR. Instead of visiting these quaint little diners, themselves a product of Americanisation and globalisation being the early British equivalent of American diners, the British public are instead opting to stop at McDonalds, KFC’s and the like. With this in mind I would like to try to capture some Little Chef’s before they completely vanish in place or fast food ‘restuarants’.

To further this project I would like to then focus specifically on the decline of traditionally Northern aspects of our society, for instance Little Chef’s are very British, Greggs are very Northern. Rather than following the catering root however I would quite like to expand this project to look at a variety of northern attributes.

Ultimately this loss of Britishness has come about through the development of transport links worldwide

With this jumble of words in mind these are two shots i took looking at the Little Chef at Skipton. I have a list of little chefs but I dont think i want to continue this right now as its a bit of a mess.