‘Blackpool is a great, roaring, spangled beast. It is a hearty democratic resort…that has always catered for working folk who were dancing in the great ballrooms long before dance palaces sprung up everywhere’.
J.B. Priestly : 1941
Arriving just after 7am for the Sky Arts Blackpool Heat, I was surprised to find the pods facing not the pier but a vast rollercoaster and its surrounding façades—a subject I wouldn’t usually choose.
Yet this unexpected view prompted me to search for a narrative that reflected Blackpool’s true spirit: a place of engineered spectacle set against forces beyond our control. The rollercoaster and promenade exist in constant dialogue with the immense sea and sky stretching along the seven-mile coastline, and it was this tension I wanted to capture.
So by widening the composition beyond the ride itself, I could acknowledge the dominance of these natural elements, using the promenade’s strong vanishing point to anchor the scene.
To be shortlisted among other excellent artists and ultimately selected as Heat winner, was an extraordinary experience.
