As any regular reader will know, I am fascinated with great churches. For a similar reason large industrial scapes attract me. There is a celebration of achievement for large structures that rise from the earth. Whither blocks of stone erected in the name of religion, or a nest of stainless steel looping into paths in the sky.
These images are distant compared to my church studies, more a contextual or postcard of an oil refinery. Certainly NOT ‘wish you were here’. The Grangemouth petrochemical cracker complex paints an unflattering foreground to Falkirk and Linlithgow. When misty with low cloud, flares on the stacks light-up the evening sky to over 20 miles away and pulse like a giant celestial heartbeat. Akin to the skies over Mount Doom for Lord of the Rings fans. The site is draped in atmosphere.
Were it not some half-assed ‘secure’ environment, I would spend more time in the streets of the complex studying form, light and all that glorious stainless spaghetti. (Photographs from 2009)
