“For years the Tyne has symbolised the strength and resilience of this region. Whether it be shipbuilding, exporting goods, fishing, living or leisure, the river has been an important barometer of economic wellbeing. So to see so many plans coming together to breathe new life into the old lady is very exciting. Even in these difficult times it seems the north bank of the Tyne is on the verge of something special.”
(Adam Jupp, 2009)
Newcastle was one of the worlds’ major centres for shipbuilding, particularly during the early part of the 20th century. During the economic depression in the mid 1920s the industry suffered from heavy job losses with unemployment rates rising.
The rebirth of the Tyne looks at this areas current plans to generate around 10,000 jobs over the next 15 years by creating a world leading hub for renewable energy. The building of a wind turbine factory on old ship yard sites is already underway. The aim is to build a large number of offshore wind farms to be sited off the coast of the UK and eventually worldwide helping to reduce the effects of global warming on the environment and reducing the reliance on non-renewable energy resources. This idea is to bring thousands of jobs back to the region, and could significantly boost economic development in the area.
The changin landscape has always fascinated me, and through the medium of photography I have been able to record those changes. I try to photograph within a historical picturesaue fasion looking to capture the beauty of a region even if there is nor one there.
This project sets out to look at the changing landscape in which we inhabit that have been constructed for industry, vast areas of landscape which once held the beauty of the region now torn apart and left to rot in the shadows if these vast industrial structures which can bee seen for miles around.
Torness – South East Coast, Scotland
Heysham – West Coast, England
Hartlepool – East Coast, England
Sellafield – West Coast, England
Chapelcross – South West Coast, Scotland
This series of photographs set’s out to document the changing British landscape looking at the interaction between nature and Nuclear whilst referencing the environmental, sociological and political issues surrounding Nuclear Power.
This becomes all that more relevant with recent plans being driven forward for a number of new Nuclear power stations to be constructed throughout the UK.
This new initiative has been put in place in an attempt to combat climate change and reduce the reliance on renewable energy resources which are ultimately destroying the Ozone layer and adding to rising sea levels.
Hospitals for me reminds me of my past and what could of easily been.
At the age of five I was diagnosed with a serious condition named, 'spinal bifocal',
"Spinal cord ependymomas belong to rare tumours of the central nervous system. Their malignancy is usually low although anaplastic forms are known also to occur. Surgical treatment is the method of choice supplemented often with radiotherapy."
This condition caused swelling around the brain putting pressure on and could ultimately lead to either paralysis or death. My family decided to allow the doctors to do the surgery to combat this problem but it was a risky prodecure with a 50% chance of coming out of it unscathed or dying.
Looking back upon this time in my memory I can recall familiar scenes, the long narrow corridoors, the alien like machines towering above me and the memory of my family by my side.
Thankfully the procedure went well and I am fine 16 years down the line after the operation and healthy persuing my dream of photography which could of not been possible without the hard work of the doctors.
This is another project whhich brought me back to my youth, I remember for hours playing down at the local community centre with my friends but sadly after a few years the funding dried up and the centre had to be closed and was left to rot over a number of years, the memories of going to the beach and to theme parks died with out generation.
Thankfully with the support of the local council and a few keen people within the district they set about to gain funding and make this community centre thriving once again, this project sets to look at this transition from the derilict state that it is now in to the rise of this centre once again for the children and parents to use.
This scheme was put in place to combat crime and ultimately keep the kids of the street and give them somewhere they can go and give them something productive to do with there spare time.
Anthony has battled through illness diagnosed with 'cerebral palsy' at such a young age this project looks at how he lives a normal life in an ordered world.
"Cerebral palsy describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to nonprogressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behaviour, by epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems.[6]"
The Tyne and Wear was once a proud shipbuilding region renowned across the world for the skills they had and the high level of work in which they produced, creating some of the best known ships worldwide and creating a large number of combat ships used in the war.
However with increased competition from abroad offering cheaper rates alot of the ship yards had to be closed and the skilled work force went into unemployment leading to a major depression within the area. This project documents this change it looks at what was once there and what is left within on the river.