Brighton beach
2002
I was born, and grew up on the North East Coast of England.
At the time I worked on this project I was living and working in Brighton.
Salvaged is the result of beach combing on two beaches over the course of one year; Brighton beach on the South East coast of England, and Whitley Bay beach on the North East coast. Both walks had clearly defined limits; in Brighton the pier at the Marina, defined one point (the new), the remains of the West Pier the other (the old). The walks in Whitley Bay between Curry’s point at the north end of the bay and the rocks below the Rex hotel at the southern end.
This routine was central to the realisation of the work. A rhythm was established of constantly ‘going over old ground’ of ‘retracing ones steps’, collecting detritus washed up by the waves. Chance encounters, remembered moments.
The ephemera collected and scanned, functions as visual echoes, counterpoints to stories, fragments of remembered conversations.
At the heart of the book published by Photoworks (2004) and long since out of print, are memories of walks on Whitley Bay beach with my father, reflected in walks with my sons on Brighton beach in vastly different circumstances.
Denis Doran 2024