'Civil', 2021, 16:9
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The definition of Civil Engineering appears above Derwent Dam, built by the ‘Birchinlee Braves’ in 1913 to eradicate cholera in the water supply to Northern cities.
This film was made for The London Group exhibition In Plain Sight at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton.
Civil: of or belonging to ordinary citizens and their concerns, as distinct from military or ecclesiastical matters.
Engineering: When I was 16 years old, drowning under the weight of expectations, I saw a photograph of a dam. And I fell in love.
Building up a picture piece by piece. Falling in love with the image
Damned if you do damned if you don’t
Brave men. Disappearing. Power at play
Manipulating the truth.
The great forces at work. Military strength.
Holding back the unseen side of nature.
Compromised and eradicated.
Use full, use less. For the use of dam busters, battling epidemics
Exploitation and convenience
The interdependence of society
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