Cath Ingham
'Museum' - 2005

I had visited the Usher Gallery in Lincoln to see Stephen Gill's photographs of the construction of the new museum in the city.   As it happens the gallery is adjacent to the site and I took these pictures on the way past.  There are, I think, similar photographic influences present in both our sets of images which you may recognise.

I did not have access to the interior of the building so made all my images from the street.  The site finishing-off work was spilling out onto the road so it felt like actually being on the site in a way.  The builders seemed very considerate as I worked amongst them and their vehicles.  They even paused before crossing in front of shots I was framing and seemed to find it quite natural to for the site to be subject matter.  I wonder if this is due to Stephen's ongoing photography there - despite the fact he does not have the builders in his images they must have seen him around - or perhaps they are just proud of the new museum they are working on and are pleased to see it getting such interest.

It hast to be said building sites are a bit of an 'easy' shoot for photographers.  They are places in that messy state of flux we like, with order emerging from the chaos of the deconstruction/construction process.   I also felt the digging and excavating work and the myriad of marks, scratches and traces to be seen were very appropriate in regard to being at a museum. 

Incidentally, the site had previously been a multi-story car park and the first house I remember living at had been compulsorily purchased from my parents by the council (I was about 11 at the time) to make way for it.  Part of the history of the site is therefore my own and there's something of my archaeology and mythology rooted there.

Cath is a graphic designer and part-time photographer based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. She has exhibited in various local group shows in Lincs, Notts and Cambridgeshire and is working on an online space to display an archive of her images and design work.


   Cath Ingham

    www.stephen-gill.co.uk