Keeping up With the Gardening

 

"...In a decaying society, art if it is truthful,

Must also reflect decay...”

 Ernst Fischer

What is it about suburban decay ? Perhaps it is the appeal of the fantasy element, the idea that one day, our once indomitable empire may fall prey to the ravages of nature and time, or is it a simple inevitable thing that happens ? I have often thought that civilisation is really about keeping up with the gardening. Mankind, his technologies, his architectural ingenuity, his various empires of supposed dominance upon this globe. All have fallen sway to the power of nature sooner or later...

Battersea Power Station 

London

Nelson’s Column

Trafalgar Square,  London

Clarence Pier

Southsea, Portsmouth

 

Originally built in 1861, Clarence Pier has seen many changes: with various extensions and other renovations added over the years but due to severe Luftwaffe air raid damage during Second World War,  it’s final refurbishment was not for some twenty years later in 1961. Once the mainstay attraction to the seaside for holidaymakers and locals alike, the Pier, its related amusement arcades, cafes, bars and fair ground rides have seen steady decline over recent decades. With no one left to maintain it, much of these aspects will become too costly to run and with most locals forced to  leave the area in search of work elsewhere, the Pier will eventually close to the public sometime in the latter part of this Century. Over the course of the next ten years the area will suffer from severe storm damage, high tides will have swept shingle into most parts of the lower levels and across the main sea road towards the Clarence Pier Bus Interchange, swamping most vehicles in the deluge. Thus, the area may reside in many rare forms of flora, boasting some of the most intricate biospheres along the south coast...

The Kings Theatre -Auditorium

The Kings Theatre, Albert Road, Portsmouth.

Even such majestic architectures as the Kings Theatre must fall eventually. Wood beams must rot with termites and water damage. Root systems find their way into the substructure, causing roofing to collapse and opening it to the elements. Alcoves and balconies that once seated patrons now become nests for various forms of flora and fauna...

Kings Theatre

View From Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth

 One has only to consider that such things are merely provisional, that all we can hope for is the eternal staving off of nature, who's vines and creepers wait patiently for the time when the gardening becomes too much for us to cope with...

A3 Bridge

(leaving Portsmouth)

As one of the main arteries leading into Portsmouth, (connecting it directly to London) with thousands of vehicles crossing over and under it everyday, such bridges as these are particularly susceptible to inclement weather. Rainwater has the knack of getting into everything, including cracks formed in the brittle concrete of bridges and buildings, a process known as imbibition, by which water molecules seep into a porous material causing it to swell, enabling plant life to creep their eventual way into the joints and supports that make up the backbone of such bridges. Water molecules within the root system expand, eventually breaking concrete apart, purely because concrete has no room for expansion and excess pressure from roots growing within, will force it apart. Bridges such as these, may stand more chance of lasting a little longer than their conventional contemporaries, simply because of their arched design. The roads beneath them however will not. With growing concerns over pot holes developing over the countries ridged arteries systems, our roads cannot be maintained forever. Motorway maintenance costs on average £3000 per mile per year. The M1 alone is 200 miles long and costs £600,000 per year to maintain. Privatisation of our motorways to foreign investors will only exasperate an already difficult financial problem. For road taxes will rise respectively, eventually forcing motorists to use other means of transport altogether. The problem is overly cyclical: motorists ultimately unable to afford to run their vehicles. Staff shortages and lowly wages mean the very petroleum in the tankers will be not be delivered to their outlets as the cost of living increases. Road fatalities will rise, due to the state of the roads and so on, the fall of the economy, creating a domino effect on our very lives...

Spinnaker Tower

and View of Gun Wharf, Portsmouth

With it's iconic shape, chosen by local residents due to its association with Portsmouth’s Maritime history, the Spinnaker Tower has unfortunately been over shadowed by its own controversial history. Originally referred to as the Millennium Tower and at a height of 170 metres (a shortfall in itself ) extensive delays and budget overruns meant that the lottery funded tower was not complete for the Millennium Celebrations, opening to the public some five years after its initial deadline. Notorious for its extensive construction costs (36 Million, 11 million paid by Taxpayers)  many disgruntled residents may recall the flurry surrounding the towers eventual opening in 2005. Whereby the Project manager and representatives from Mowlem (the builders) and Maspero (the Italian Lift suppliers) became trapped in the Towers infamous glass elevator, suspended some 40 feet in the air. To this day, the lift has never worked properly and will be removed by the end of 2012. As the centre point of Gun Wharf Keys and the historic Portsmouth Dockyards, the tower is extremely susceptible to the elements and must be maintained with weatherproofing paint at all times. Due to the high salt content of the area, its protective paint will eventually peal away exposing the concrete beams beneath. The tower will then begin to develop cracks in its super structure, allowing water to seep in and corrode vital metal supports, some of which will become loose and eventually fall upon the concourse beneath. To paint the tower, it costs on average £300,000. Within the next few decades, lack of funding into the towers maintenance will run mean closer to the general public, as the entire area thus becomes unsafe and falls prey to the rigours of time. Unkempt foliage will eventually work its way across Gun Wharf, into the cafe at the base of the tower and work its way up inside the Spinnaker Tower itself. The tramlines that once supported the glass elevator, will become the basis of a trestle, encouraging vines and various floras to creep up the tower until they engulf the derelict cafe at the top. Eventually, the site may well become a centrepiece of ornithological interest, as sea gulls, starlings and other coastal birds begin to reside within the various stairwells, lattice supports and other parts of the abandoned Spinnaker tower...

Guild Hall Square

Portsmouth

The recession is not only about lack of work, it is also about a mind set, that has existed since the dawn of the industrial revolution. The idea that capitalism holds the key to our comfortable living is an illusion, simply because the idea of running a community on such a system is ultimately flawed.  If we regard the mechanisms by which it runs on, we only need to look at the state of our own environment. The Guildhall square was heavily bombed during the second world war in Luftwaffe air raids. It has been rumoured that the Luftwaffe were sold the additives to their petrol driven planes by American conglomerates. Money is always the problem, for such corporations have no allegiance to any flag.  It is time that we took a more mature look at the potentials of pulling our resources together, rather than fighting over them. It is time we looked to other alternatives rather than the stalemate concept of money. This could be classed as an open source system or library system. If our civilisation cannot understand this, then we have no hope in keeping up with the gardening.  For example, in a recession, schools and colleges close accordingly, highly skilled work then becomes scarce, communities must then move further afield in order to survive. Leaving behind them relative ghost cities such as Portsmouth to the mercy of nature. This is true of every empire that has come and gone before us, for once the resources have been used up in that locality, the dynasty of Egypt and  Rome and so on, were all doomed to dwindle and perish over the passing centuries. It is time now that we learn from these mistakes and begin the process of working together as a united planet, rather than as a series of petty divided countries...

Houses of  Parliament

London 

 

...and unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it.”

Ernst Fischer

So long as we keep up with the gardening we have a chance. So please - trim your hedges, mow your lawns, prune your rose bushes. Before it is too late...