Knowing very little about Condor Services, and not being able to find much online, I decided to ask on a local Facebook group. The locals (names and pictures have been obscured for anonymity) were very helpful.
Some locals commented that the site sold cars 40 years ago and closed a few years ago due to the owner retiring.
I envisage my work in an abandoned and desolate setting, connecting the contextual meaning with a tangible sense of abandonment. It is my intention to take photographs of the sign within this environment and show prints alongside the sign itself. This allows me to underpin my work with a purpose, rather than just as a show piece.
I have driven past this particular site many times, on my way to Leicester. I've always been drawn to the building, wondering about it's history. The building has unique and captivating shape, reminiscent of the Mid-Century Modern American buildings I have discovered in my past research. It is totally abandoned, with rotten fascias and faded posts in the window. It seems to have been frozen in time. I was extremely curious as to why it hadn't been knocked down or refurbished, but could not find much information online.
I decided to purchase the land registry online, and discovered that the site was sold in summer 2023, which would hint that it will be knocked down or refurbished soon. This made me eager to photograph the site before it is no longer.
The first correspondence on the land registry dates back to 1932.
I was able to find was an old picture from the BLM Car Sales Nottingham website, dated 2005.
You can see cars for sale on the forecourt. The cars seem old fashioned, but not even as old fashioned as the building itself. You can see here that very little has changed from this 2005 picture to nearly 20 years on in 2024.
I decided that this would be the perfect site for my signs. Representing literally the theme of abandonment I have been focusing on. My plan is to take my signage to this site and photograph it there - it's aesthetic being the opposite of my kitsch, flamboyant, garish signage.
I plan to display these photographs alongside my final piece in our exhibition.
When my uncle Peter passed away, my very large family gathered. In our shock, we were silent for a while, but then we began to tell stories and laugh and smile. It feels so wrong to laugh and find humour in such dark times, but that is where the healing lies.
It feels so much easier to be around family, laughing and telling tales of the deceased, than to sit and cry. Is that because we're so used to masking our pain? Or is it about protecting each other. I often found myself waiting until I was alone to cry, and I cried for my uncle but also for my mum and my aunties, my grandad, my cousins, crying for the collective loss and crying for their pain.
But then, we're all back together, and we're laughing again.
"The greatest victory is when you realize you've made it past the place where memories of your loved one brought mostly sadness, to a place where you can laugh and smile remembering the crazy, loving, warm, fun, generous, weird, stubborn things they used to do."
This relates back to my previous project and the notion that without agony you cannot experience joy. The two are symbiotic. Earlier this year, in the space of 2 days, I secured my dream job and then buried my uncle. One of my greatest achievements was followed by one of the most moving and sad days of my entire life.
I personally use humour as a coping mechanism. I'm a nervous laughter kind of person. When something is so serious that it makes you burst out laughing. I've got through some of the hardest times of my life by laughing through tears with friends. And I'm glad of it.
"Humor is both a defense mechanism in times of crisis and a tool for coping long after the event"
"Laughter can lower cortisol levels and increase the production of dopamine, endorphins, T-cells and immune proteins which may contribute to the following:
Physical Impact:
Eases physical pain
Strengthens immune function
Decreases stress
Increases relaxation
Elevates mood and feelings of well being
Decreases feelings of depression and anxiety."
I use humour in my work, the same way I use it in real life. It is both a mask and a comfort blanket. If we laugh about it, it's not so bad after all. I can tell you the deepest inner workings of my soul then laugh about it - to take the edge off. So, I hope people do laugh at my work, after all, it's good for you.