The work of photographer Michael Scott in documenting Birmingham’s derelict buildings for more than seven years is currently showing at the Central Library.
Redundant landmarks he has photographed over that time include the MG/Rover works at Longbridge, the former Central TV Studios complex on Broad Street, the HP Sauce factory in Aston and the Birmingham Mint in Hockley.
Twenty photographs of ten buildings are now on display in the “Art in a window” gallery, looking out on to Congreve Passage, outside the lower ground floor of the Central Library – which could itself become another redundant landmark in the next few years if plans for its replacement go ahead.
“I have been fascinated with dereliction for years, the time between a business closing and its destruction or regeneration,” Scott, a graduate of Birmingham’s Institute of Art & Design, explains.
“It’s almost as if time has frozen, sometimes it’s as if the workers had just vanished, workplaces are left ready for business the following day, but the workers never come.
“Many buildings are left due to relocation or financial difficulties, with international companies opting for overseas workers due to their cheap labour.
“I have seen many industries go down the drain, even before the so called ‘credit crunch.’ MG/Rover was the most obvious one, with the production moving to China.
“Longbridge was abandoned for nearly three years before they moved part of production back to Birmingham. During those years, all the machines, computers and lights were left on, cars on the conveyor belts, you really did seem to get a feel of sadness for the workers who found out on a normal work day, without warning that they had lost their jobs, cars were just left half-finished.”
He adds: “The reason I document the places I do is that three months down the line from a building being destroyed or converted, are you going to remember what was there before? Let alone what was inside it. I feel the need to capture the history of our industries before we lose them all.”
* The exhibition continues until September 12, and can be seen 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
