Seven Miles Out

Once taken to the destination of Seven Miles Out Courtyard in Stockport Old Town, I found certain elements of the place particularly interesting. Such elements I found most inspiring and interesting about the courtyard was the mess of line elements that seemed to weave through the urban decay of the building.
I noticed that throughout the entirety of collecting the pieces together of observing the courtyard in detail, there were a lot of implications of line within the compositions captured on photos as well as other rubbings etc.

Collected the following as documentation for representing the courtyard:

• Screws and bolts
• Pieces of brick and rubble
• Pieces of wood
• Rubbings from walls
• Rubbings from floors
• Sketches from around the area
• Plant debris
• A quick piece of descriptive writing I felt represented the courtyard's atmosphere and the lines I saw within it.

 Here's the following descriptive writing I constructed in the courtyard about the surrounding area as a different media to represent the surroundings.

Lines. Lines framing the very essence of the courtyard, the black webs of wire folding in and out of the rough tides of cement. A deep depth of eternal shadow, clinging to the frail cobwebs and broken bricks, wrapping its strength against the walls like a boa constrictor against desperate prey. A couple of lazy wires flap in possession of sloth like rhythm, warily wondering against the foundations they had once begun to constrict.

I felt that describing the courtyard in such a way really helped develop the feelings that I felt, almost as if the elements of the place were personified and brought to life.


10th November 2014
For the exhibition space we had to produce out of the fragments collected to represent the courtyard, I chose to compose my exhibition on an overturned table.
 I chose this set up as I decided that due to the line qualities I concentrated on and the intricate viewing that was taking place, I decided to imitate a forensic type of layout, with string connecting my fragments together as if in an investigation.
I framed the space with the fragments of rubbings from the ground, I wanted it to feel enclosed alike the feeling in the graveyard. One of my favourite photographs taken from the courtyard experience is the silhouette through the bars in the alleyway, as I feel this represented an ominous source of mystery which is perfect for the feeling of the courtyard. I placed this piece printed slightly off centre, to produce a slightly uncomfortable approach or to be quite intimidating (from the composition task, learnt skills of how to make the viewer feel alternate emotions through simple layout tactics)