Brighton Pier.Thousands of people flock to the seaside every year for a holiday, an escape. sunshine, sunburn.
The Pier is the pinnacle part of the seaside for me, flashing lights, loud noises, scary rides. You cannot help but being drawn to this walkway of entertainment.
But what is the "real" attraction of the pier? Millions of pounds are spent at piers around the country, but why are some so willing to spend this money?
Seaside towns in the summer are fantastic, everyone is happy and enjoying themselves, however seaside destinations in the winter are one of the most depressing places to be. Everything closes down, everything waits until the sunshine months reappear so they can breathe again. So what happens when this happens to people? When the sunshine is gone, they stay.
For me, the Pier represents this idea of acceptable gambling, slot machines, betting, roulette, blackjack, it is all gambling, and highly addictive. And while for some this is an occasional flutter and would never affect their life, for others it is a problem. In the same way that some people can't help but have that extra drink. But why is this addiction perceived so differently as drinking or drug taking. There is no such thing as a clean addiction, the repercussions of an addiction can lead to devastation, breakdown, crime, violence, domestic violence,homelessness to say the least.
And this is what i want to explore, the idea that something seen to be harmless and a bit of fun can lead to people's lives being ruined.
It feels that i am delving far to deep for my first blog entry, and especially because the project is called "Representing Your World", but in my world this is one of my reality's. Addiction is something that has affected my life, experiencing the damage of what addiction can do is a defining aspect of the person i am today. So throughout this blogging life, i will explore the glamorization of a lifestyle that really isn't glamourous, and then try to show what the reality of this life is.
Really strong interesting ideas for your project, I'm interested in seeing how your going to photograph and document the messy topic of addicton. Really like the photograph of the slot machine on Brighton Pier.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen the film Candy, it deals with a couples addiction to heroin, and how it destroys their and their families lives, a very hard hitting, sad film but really does depict the destruction and greed of addiction so well. You should also have a look at Pete Doherty's diary- The books of Albion- the collected writings of Peter Doherty.
Are we going to see some pics...
ReplyDeleteHugh
like josh said , you have some interesting ideas to get started with. With the subject of addiction there are so many ways in which you could explore this. Addiction is present in every aspect of society, from the seemingly harmless pier arcade to the crack dens.
ReplyDeleteUploading as we speak Hugh!
ReplyDelete