Paradise Lost

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." - Milton

Every year people flock in countless droves to far flung areas of the planet, to see some sites and relax within the confines of a little slice of paradise. This photo essay draws out the ways in which the myth of ‘paradise’ is lost to the reality of souvenirs, queues and people just doing what they can to earn a living. Showing how the myth and reality are juxtaposed and disseminated within each other.        

"To me my car is a Rolls Royce. Others my call it something else but to me it's a Rolls Royce. To me this is the centre of the Earth."

This project is a subjective look at an industrial town clawing its way through a post-industrial era. The Black Country in the West Midlands has always been a highly industrious region and was one of the starting points of Britain’s industrial revolution. However over the past few decades’ industry has dwindled and with more people finding themselves in unemployment it is a region that is struggling economically. Those of us that have lived all our lives in the here have watched its decline and this has had a profound effect on the social psyche as we attempt to grasp fondly at memories of the illustrious Black Country whilst always wondering what the future will bring to it. The population tries to move forward whilst always gazing backwards. Fighting to retain an identity that is rooted in the past as dereliction spreads from the factories and empty housing through the streets and into the hearts and minds and out of the eyes of those that will always be here.

This project was shot in residence at the Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham with choreographer Jerrel Jackson and the dancers in his company. The aim of the project was to produce exhibition imagery to accompany the opening of his new company with the support of MAC arts.