Through module one I touched on Donovan Wylie and viewed his body of work (British Watch Towers) online, I then purchased his book so I could contextualise his work further in relation to my current practice. Wylie’s work of the British Watch Towers is record of history through that time. Its political issues represented by the towers in their involvement of the 30-year conflict ‘The Troubles’ and the importance of their demolishment, to go forward from the Good Friday agreement. The towers were an important part of history to document, to have that visual reminder of how these military infrastructures juxtaposed them selves in every day society. In the back of the book there is an interesting essay by Louise Purbrick which contextualises Wylie’s work. Purbrick quotes from architectural historian Quentin Hughes that Military architecture lies in its ‘honesty’ so saying “nothing hides their function: no architraves, no cornices, no decorative detailing at all; entirely unadorned and brutally honest” (Purbrick, 2007, p63). I have ordered his book (Military architecture: the art of defence from earliest times to the Atlantic Wall) to see if Hughes can offer any critical context to my practice with the various different sites I document. Maybe I can determine any comparison between buildings of which this could help me capture the different sites with a better perspective.
Wylie has constructed his images by keeping his approach consistent, horizon always remains the same at ¾ into the distance. It has been shot with the same cloudy weather, which removes any aesthetics that a sky could bring and keeps your attention to the landscape. With the sky being grey and glum it reflects the same mood of the subject, these towering grey fortresses that stick out from the topography of the landscape. Wylie has included much of the landscape so you appreciate the greatness of the infrastructure and relationships between the two. Wylie’s approach for consistency is something I should seek in my own practice, he has chosen 1 or 2 elements and included that in every image, which works well as a body of work.
https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/donovan-wylie-british-watchtowers/
Critical Research Journal 