photographic abstraction #15

This latest instalment in my photographic abstraction series features one of my most used motifs: concrete walls stained by moss or mould, or disfigured by lichen. Carnival is an internal wall of a derelict building, the spidery coloured lines of which remind me of Kandinsky, although I make no claims of æsthetic equivalence.

Riders in the Mist is a pattern that is commonly seen on the external walls of traditional Chinese houses, while Turning Japanese is a different type of pattern on the same type of surface. Sonata in Green and Black can be described as a ‘standard’ mossy concrete wall.

The odd one out in this collection is The Third Circle of Hell, which even a casual glance will confirm is of rust stains. In fact, this is a huge industrial steel door, and I’m puzzled as to why it has rusted according to this pattern. It does make for an interesting image though.

From the next chapter in this series, there will be fewer photos of stained walls as I start to introduce entirely new motifs, including one that I defy anyone to identify its origins. Part of the reason for the change is that most of the concrete walls I’ve photographed recently have an amorphous quality that results in a lack of distinctiveness (cf. Night Life in Photographic Abstraction #14).

I hope that this has whetted your appetite for more, although you will have to wait three months for the next instalment.

turning japanese

carnival

sonata in green and black

the third circle of hell

riders in the mist

previous posts in this series
Photographic Abstraction (this one includes a detailed description of the æsthetic rationale that underpins these images)
Photographic Abstraction #12
Photographic Abstraction #13
Photographic Abstraction #14