Moments and Exchanges
Upon returning from Amsterdam, I began to work upon my drawing of a moment or exchange which had stuck in my mind. I chose to illustrate the below scene, which was witnessed upon exploring Northern Amsterdam during a period of poor weather. The ubiquity of the post-industrial landscape found in this forgotten part of the city was something that I found very interesting, with its direct contradiction of Amsterdam as a place of canals and narrow houses. Here structures of dramatic scale had been left behind with the decline of heavy industry in the Netherlands, allowing a whole new section of society to move in and make it their home.
Hover over image for annotation.
Original image that provided main source of inspiration.
Within this first image I wanted to explore the sense of scale which I felt upon visiting this place, as well as the extremes of the weather which we experienced that day. Below I have attempted to zoom in upon a particular scene which struck me as interesting. It shows a couple walking out in a hurry to reach their destination, given no choice but to brave the cold. Behind them is a biker who, in no rush, has decided to wait out the poor weather. I felt that this could be related to my desire to explore the homeless situation within Manchester, considering the lack of refuge that rough sleepers can access when it is raining, thus leaving them little choice but to seek often inadequate shelter.
From the review, I took this smaller view into the moment so that the viewer would be able to see more of the story that I was trying to convey. I also altered the line weights so that the depth of field comes across better,