Through module one I touched on Donovan Wylie and viewed his body of work (Maze) online, I then purchased his book so I could contextualise his work further in relation to my current practice. This edition came with 3 volumes the Maze prison itself, Maze demolition and a essay by Louise Purbrick; The Architecture of Containment which offers great contextualisation to Wylie’s work. The Maze has a great symbolic meaning for many people and the demolition of the prison marks the end of a conflict. These images offer a glimpse of what a prison looks like, how the inmates went about their daily lives. For many you wouldn’t have any idea of what a prison looks like only from representations we see in film and cinema. I think there are similarities of Wylie’s work, to my practice that not everybody would be aware of a military environment.
Like the British Watch Towers Wylie deals with the importance to capture a time in history but then also the importance of the destruction of these buildings/areas as political symbolism. Where as for me I want to touch on the possibility of preserving military buildings instead of demolition.
Wylie has shot systematically throughout, covering every end of the prion, which brings understanding to the structure and its purpose. Like the British Watch Towers he has shot on cloudy grey days as to bring attention to the subject. Objectivity seems to be clear factor in the capturing of the site and, as the site’s context is rich with political and social issues. I think its important the photographer keeps his/hers personal views to minimum so that it can be a visual descriptive record. At this stage of my practice I will bare this in mind as I think this approach will achieve my intent in the best way possible.
https://pro.magnumphotos.com/Package/29YL535PA8CQ
Critical Research Journal 