05/10/06
Rain – a momentary respite – rain

The plan was to cycle the region from the Stanley Dock up to the Bootle boarder. I parked up just down from the Tate and Lyle storage depot. And I sat there. And the rain pelted down and the van steamed up and I opened the window and got soaked by road spray that could be more aptly described as a wave than a spray. The road at this end of the docks is covered in pit-holes – today, pools of mucky oily water. And I sat there and I thought…
“On my bike, on a day like today – you’ve got to be joking – I’ll get drenched – I won’t meet anyone coz who in there right mind will be out on the streets? My evaluation sheets will get soggy and my pens and pencils won’t work on the wet paper. My photos will be grey and murky, lacking clarity and definition coz of the downpour. And why should I be concerned about my carbon footprint – just look at all these lorries thundering down Regent Road….”
And then I gave some thought to the [im] practicalities of being a carbon neutral artist. Not only is it restricting but it is also potentially dangerous and there are personal hazards like wetness discomfort.
From the comfort of my van I evaluated the site I was parked in front of. I couldn’t be sure if it was a Brownfield or not. I had encountered this same dilemma last week. Many of the premises along this stretch of the docks look abandoned or disused, but upon closer inspection you see that they are in use. You could compare these premises with domestic homes and gardens - some people care for their garden and some people don’t. But if a place is occupied and ‘in use’, regardless if how it may look, being ‘in use’ means that it doesn’t fit with the definition of Brownfield that I am using. (One thing I have realized doing this type of work that is that continuity is important. If I am not constant with my site evaluations, my data will be worthless.)

Still chucking it down, I am faced with the dilemma – if I trawl the streets in my van do I blow the credibility of the project?