Phil Bedford - 'Territories'

A 2nd year photography student, at Brighton University, and co-founder of pH magazine Phils work gained inspiration from Michael Schmidt’s book, Waffenrue (Ceasefire) where he produced images about the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain. This work is shot in black and white, the absence of colour allows for deeper ambiguity in the close-up images. This style allows the reader to dwell upon the metaphorical signs that may be drawn from the decayed structures and almost alien terrain. I have also found John Gossage’s Vocational Ruins work to be slightly similar and his use of depth of field very inspiring. The abstraction of these images is important as it is only the details of these boundaries that interest me, the fact these details give us reassurance that our personal space is ours. The psychological boundaries such as picking at a couch or etching names into a table allow us the privacy we desire within the public space but also leave traces behind on our primitive territory.

Images: (Top to Bottom)
Sofa, 2007
Table, 2007
Window, 2007