Jon Pountney's Allure Of Ruins (recent Cardiff exhibition reviewed here) is an important project in terms of what it says about Wales' industrial past and post-industrial present, so it was nice to see it get wider exposure via the platform of a BBC article.
The images emphasise the unconventional aesthetic appeal of countless sites that were once noisy hives of intense human activity but are now not "protected or loved or used", but Pountney is not merely content to present us with ruin porn; on the contrary, there's an agenda behind the project. As he says of the stunning Cwmystwyth in Ceredigion, "[i]f it was anywhere else in the world, it would have a visitor centre and boards telling you this view was this, but obviously in Wales we only do castles". The message is clear: Wales should do more to recognise, celebrate and conserve its industrial heritage.
No comments:
Post a Comment