Studio-work 3, High Bridge
This intervention aims to visually reconstruct the ruined bridge through forced perspective. From a designated view point the pavilions behind and in front of the bridge will visually align recreating the original form of the bridge.
Deception is a key part of the history of this site, the skirmish here that began the 1745 Jacobite uprising involved the Jacobite forces exaggerating their numbers and capabilities resulting in their victory. Charles Edward Stuart is recorded in a “secret” portrait that can only be viewed through a curved reflective surface placed in the middle.
These concepts motivated the forced perspective element of this design.
This project “observes” the history of tourism in Scotland and Lochaber, drawing parallels between the 18th century and the present day.
Comparing the filming location driven tourism with the 18th century impact of literature such as “Lady of the Lake” on loch Katrine and “The Poems of Ossian” on the Hermitage, to the impact of Harry Potter and James Bond on Glenfinnan and Glencoe.
This project aims to draw on the Romantic movement, both on the renewed Jacobite interest from “the Outlander effect”, and the concept of the sublime, where the grand scale of the gorge, the ruination of the bridge and the sound of the waterfall can be enjoyed from ambitious new vantage points.
In the 18th century there was a fashion to visit landscapes and view them through a Claude glass to give the impression of a painting. Today mobile phones adopt this role, except the “selfie” is now a driver of this tourism.
The illusion of the reconstructed bridge from the view point relates to this, providing a designed “selfie” attraction.
