The Gasholder

I'm very fond of this gasholder. I like these sort of structures and post-industrial landscapes in general (I probably paid more attention to the setting in 'Il deserto rosso' than the action and dialogue. Ok, that and Monica Vitti's outfits). They remind me of home although I never really gave them any notice until they started to disappear when I was in sixth form. I thought they were going for good as part of the redevelopment but a local resident informed me that they (or at least one) were going back up. I have mixed feelings about what's happening in King's Cross but I am glad to see the gasholder again.

I grew up (and my family still live) in Somers Town. It's right in the middle of King's Cross, St Pancras, Euston and Mornington Cresent. There's constant change in and around the area: In the '90s, the British Library was built; in the 2000s we had St Pancras International and now the Francis Crick research centre is being completed right opposite the station.

The drawing is from 2 or so years ago when I was doing an art project about transience. I chose to focus on buildings and structures because they show subtle changes that happen throughout time and, like clothes, they tell us a lot about the time in which they were designed and erected. A little while after this I started taking some pictures with a disposable camera and I was thinking about how and why certain buildings such as St Pancras Old Church are carefully preserved and why others are left to rot.