Developing Ideas 02: Buildings

The graphic designer in me then began to look at the structure of the shops and the buildings that house them in an attempt to create images that were a bit more iconic. (click images to enlarge)

Why COMPRA? 01

On my return from Galicia, I started to realize that I had to do something with all the material I had generated. Thoughts around the importance of buying and selling, the damage of consumerism, the social significance of small owner occupied businesses and need to preserve the visual diversity of the High Street began to crystallize into an argument that I felt needed to be made. The question was how to make it? I have always believed that to draw something you need to respect it. This is different to taking a photograph, you spend more time with your subject and as a result somehow the act imparts value to it. With this in mind I looked at the work of Emory Douglas and Eric Ravilious. Two very different artists working with very different subject matter, but both managed to produce images that force us to respect this subject matter.  

Calle La Torre

To really understand the diversity of the Spanish High Street, I did a little experiment. This involved photographing every shop on a street that regularly walked down from my hotel - Calle La Torre. This developed into an extremely revealing visual research exercise. It forced me to analyze and understand my subject matter by looking at each of it’s constituent parts. I am always amazed by what you see when you really look and how rewarding this is when you have time to do it. (click images to enlarge)