The Mills Project by Luke Speakman
Medium: DJI 4 mini pro
Location: Wigan Borough
A series of aerial photographs focusing on abandoned and repurposed textile mills in Wigan and the surrounding boroughs. The project focuses on highlighting essential areas of employment for the working class people living nearby and depicting them in the state they are in now. Whether that be decaying and left to rot or some that have been give a new lease of life for the community. I wanted to convey the beauty in which I see in everyday architecture that otherwise the majority may overlook. The way in which I’ve decided to portray these buildings is reminiscent of archival images, the black and white background both serving as a means of muting the background as well as acting as a connection to what has passed. The driving force behind The Mills Project is my deep-rooted connection to the working-class community in which I grew up in, my grandfather being a coal miner the other main form of employment during that time, as well as my keen interest in architectural photography as a means of documenting buildings that hold great historical value to the immediate community but in the coming years will likely not exist. My Aim was to document these buildings in a different way in which they appear in archival images some being so desolate in life compared to the surrounding area whilst others being used for a completely different purpose due to the shifting nature of the manufacturing industry
