Brine Field Photography

RSPB Saltholme 25 May - 9 June 2019

BRINE FIELD

Thomas Pearson

Brine derricks at Haverton Hill, 1952 Unveiling the Port Clarence war memorial, 1922

“Brine Field was a remarkable project to open our ‘Edgelandia’ programme of site-specific artworks.

Thomas Pearson located his installation of twelve white obelisks in the unique environment of RSPB Saltholme; together with his haunting, lyrical poems, they created compelling new vistas across the landscape, inviting visitors to engage with both personal and industrial histories of Teesside.

The experience of walking around and among the obelisks was thrilling, transformative. It felt like performing a ritual awakening.”

Tom Chivers Penned in the Margins

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Brine Field was a site-specific installation embedded in the industrial landscape of RSPB Saltholme.

Poems and sculptural monuments responded to the history of a remarkable environment, now a haven for birds, shaped by salt, iron, ships and chemicals.

Thomas Pearson grew up in Billingham and is now based in York. His work concerns history, buildings and places.

Thomas Pearson

The numbered diamonds correspond to locations for the poems featured in the installation, as published (along with a map) in a separate booklet.

RSPB Saltholme 25 May - 9 June 2019

BRINE FIELD

Concept, design, poetry and text by Thomas Pearson Obelisk construction by John Fuller Copyright © Thomas Pearson, 2019 Photography by Thomas Pearson (pages 1, 4, 5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14-15 below, 16-17 above, 19 below, 20-21 below), Madeleine Rose (3, 12, 16-17 below, 18, 22), Chris Corbett (14-15 above, 19 above, 20-21 above), ICI Billingham Film Unit (2 above) and Port Clarence Changes (2 below).

Commissioned by Penned in the Margins for ‘Edgelandia’. Supported by the River Tees Rediscovered Landscape Partnership, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players and awarded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund. edgelandia.com @edgelandia nospinoza.co.uk