Dan Holdsworth

'A Machine for Living' (1999-2000) is Dan Holdsworth's series of photographs that depict Bluewater shopping complex at night. The shopping centre was built on the site of a disused quarry near a major motorway junction in suburban Kent.

In Holdsworth's long-exposure photographs he captures the landscape and the structures built within it, making them seem "other-worldly". This is created by the presence of artificial light which pollutes the scene giving it a strange, toxic glow. Bluewater shopping centre recorded at night, in the bright glow of its own streetlights, seems far removed from the consumerist Mecca we might expect.

His choice to photograph Bluewater has the underlying concept (even though he hasn't vocalised that this is a concept of his work) of photographing a manmade element that has been built into a natural location.

Information can be found at: https://imageobjecttext.com/2012/02/15/machines-for-living/
Images can be found at: https://www.danholdsworth.com

A Machine for Living 01, C-type Print, 114.5 x 92.5cm, 1999-2000

A Machine for Living 02, C-type Print, 114.5 x 92.5cm, 1999-2000

A Machine for Living 03, C-type Print, 114.5 x 92.5cm, 1999-2000