Andrew Marland ARPS ~ A Panel

I intially had no interest in RPS distinctions when I joined Leyland in 2006, but as time went on and I saw the standard of work being produced by people with the various distinctions, I began to think, hey why not? I attended an RPS workshop in Manchester and was advised to go straight for the ARPS distinction, which was a temporary a boost for the ego until I went to one of Margaret Salisbury's sessions at Leyland, where I was thankfully brought back down to earth when I was told I had the basis for a panel but it would need a lot of work. Boy, was she right! I suppose the initial advice was given to me on the basis that I already had a body of work on a given theme, rather than the actual quality of the individual images, but with time and effort, a panel began to emerge.

Finally, after three years of on and off work, a courier arrived to collect my box of images for Bath. A midweek assessment and a shortage of leave meant I couldn't attend in person, so a nerve wracking wait ensued until I received an email confirmation of my success! What a great feeling of achievement! Now the hard work begins as I start to begin work on a FRPS panel.

Statement of intent:-

"As a professional engineer, I am fascinated by the structures, processes and machinery of industry. However, my lifetime has seen huge changes in the industrial landscape with the skylines of the northern industrial towns rapidly changing to something unfamiliar.

The past ten years have seen a quickening of this transformation, with changes in the global economy meaning that many traditional industries have all but vanished. These workplaces, once the hubs of their communities, lie empty, stripped of their assets and smashed up by vandals and copper thieves. An uncertain future awaits the buildings and their former workers.In the gap between closure and re-generation, I have been recording these landmarks before all traces of our industrial past are erased forever."

Here are the images from my panel.