This weathered sign once sat on the colonnade in Avenham, Preston near the famous Victorian parks that hug the beautiful River Ribble.
The surface had become a living organism, infecting the map of local history and obscuring the layout. Where there had been the order of paths and borders there was now algae. The texture and the nature of that layer could almost be 'de-mapping'.
Years later my wife and I are back in the area. There are many hidden histories and traces of stories. Even with half bits of information, they're stories worth discovering to re-tell. Someone told me the colonnade is supposed to be the only Victorian colonnade of its kind in the country. This probably means 'with trees' because there's an arched one with columns in Llandudno.
The Avenham sign is long gone, taken by the Council. Over time my own views and practices within photography have developed and changed. Like the idea of the sign; without 'the other' layer it is just a sign, a regular map pointing out an area we are to explore. But the surface that now obscures it has awakened a different aesthetic.
'Belvedere'. This on the website marginalimages.com
The original photograph features three images:
The postcards were in an encased notice board on the north-side entry to Avenham Park and they featured the belvedere in Avenham park and the main avenue in the adjacent Millar Park.
Prints are available to buy and range from £12.
Other images can be bought on my Etsy page
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