Blossom II - Calthorpe Park/Hemisphere
Calthorpe Park/Hemisphere, a set of photos taken at the edge of the park, are part of a larger collection of Blossom photos taken at various locations - housing estates, parks, roadsides - around Birmingham. Here nature changes everything, the cacophony of traffic, road signs, pedestrians, street furniture and advertising become a symphony.
Everything becomes instrumental, even bags of leaves waiting for collection (a reminder of a more secure past). Advertising inspired by nature echoes its source and for a brief time the earths hemisphere becomes more whole.
The Hemisphere signage directs the way to an apartment complex, occupying a decimating wooded area adjacent to the Midlands Art Centre. In 2006, Redrow awarded a construction contract to Laing O'Rourke for 344 one and two-bedroom apartments. Following the Grenfell Tower disaster, Fire engineers reported a 100% failure rate when they examined external wall systems and found that fire control systems were virtually non-existent. Over three year later the leaseholders struggle remains unresolved.
