Departed

Departed, a post apocolypitic depiction based on Brandon station.

I’ve always been inspired by the thought of nature taking over spaces which were previously dominated by humans, often depicted in films such as I am legend or games like The last of Us it always looks so beautiful to me. I think because I am a pretty solitary person who doesn’t like busy places but loves being surrounded in nature, this theme evokes some sort of calm and peace for me.

The absence of humans in a space that was built by humans for humans makes it feel liminal. Abandoned buildings and places have always been an interest of mine.

I wanted to use this theme of abandonment and nature reclaiming its space somewhere local (Brandon Suffolk). My first thought was the flint knappers pub as that has a lot of interesting structural features but as I hadn’t had much practice with straight lines or buildings I opted for the station which apparently has many more straight lines *insert face palm emoji*. It was going to have so much detail, a broken down train, a shopping cart, litter from local takeaways all featured, but in the end I decided that if I wanted it to be a selling piece it would be better to just go with weeds and overgrowth.

Turns out, because it took so long to paint I became very attached to this painting. It sits in my studio slowly getting hidden by newer paintings but I feel I know this place so well. The building is currently wrapped up in scaffolding and plastic as different groups fight to save/demolish it. Even with a hole in the roof, rotting woodwork and a servere case of neglect I think my painting looks better than the building in its current state! I think I could part with it one day, if someone was willing to pay me enough but I really would like to display it locally first for people to get up close and see the details. Its 60x80cm and my biggest piece.

I hope to do some more buildings in Brandon in the same style, I know its not for everyone, people don’t generally like to imagine the world after its ended or their beloved home town left to waste. It’s a bit sad and dark but its also beautiful, calm and peaceful.