ERMM...HELLOO??...CORNWALL, UK, 2025
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British telephone boxes, especially the iconic red ones designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, have no doubt shaped the cultural landscape of the UK. Their cultural impact is undeniable, securing their place alongside other British icons and earning them recognition as listed buildings.
As mobile technology advanced, the traditional purpose of phone boxes diminished, leading to decline and repurposing efforts. While newer BT designs emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, they have not attained the cultural significance of the red boxes. They're seldom used today. Vandalism has been a persistent and incurable plague for the BT boxes. I've never seen one without cracked glass or graffiti all over. Most artists overlook these decaying structures. They've been pointless since the invention of mobile phones. However, no two telephone boxes are the same, and vandalism is a clue to its unique history. I found this phone box during my frequent visit to Old Hill, one of Cornwall's poorest neighbourhoods. The phone was off its cradle as if someone had left midway through a call 10 years ago and never returned. My mind imagines all the calls this booth serviced, all the connections it enabled people to make, and when the last call was made. I used a standard lens to isolate the phone box. The problem was that I had to film through the glass as my lens wasn't wide enough to get the composition I desired inside the booth. The image I visualised making didn't contain any space surrounding the box. I had to be close enough to isolate the phone, but at an angle that didn't reflect too much of the sky. After a few failed attempts, I got the image I had visualised. The vandalism is what makes this image. It is exactly what a neglected phone box could say if it could speak. |
