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As a whole the scene resembles not so much a construction site as a war zone.","physicalDescription":"Black and white photograph  of construction site with explosion in the sky.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Griffin, Brian","id":"A10021"},"association":{"text":"photographer","id":"AAT25687"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[{"text":"gelatin silver process","id":"AAT139114"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Gelatin-silver print","categories":[{"text":"Photographs","id":"THES48910"},{"text":"Architecture","id":"THES48993"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"PDP","id":"THES48595"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"A","id":"THES384920"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"photograph","id":"AAT46300"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1986","earliest":"1986-01-01","latest":"1986-12-31"},"association":{"text":"photographed","id":"x30151"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[{"object":{"text":"E.1065-1988","id":"O82670"},"association":""},{"object":{"text":"E.1065-1988","id":"O82670"},"association":""}],"creditLine":"Given by the photographer","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"124","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Print","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"154.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Print","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"171","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Frame","note":"Measurement of object when framed"},{"dimension":"Height","value":"139","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Frame","note":"Measurement of object when framed - frame does not exceed width of print"},{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Height of grid ","note":"Size of grid when all 18 photographs in the series are displayed together"},{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Width of grid","note":"Size of grid when all 18 photographs in the series are displayed together"},{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"'Big Bang' from Broadgate series by Brian Griffin. Photograph, 1986","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[{"text":"Broadgate","id":"x36705"}],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Influenced by both the Romantic paintings of Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) and his own time working in England’s industrial Midlands, Griffin creates surreal and striking photographs. Here, a lone figure stands in an empty construction site, gazing upwards at an exploding firework blooming across the night sky. Griffin deliberately launched this powerful mortar firework, its star-like form lighting up the scene with dramatic effect.","date":{"text":"May 2023","earliest":"2023-05-01","latest":"2023-05-31"}},{"text":"The building activity in this photograph was the result of the economic confidence of the 1980s. However, the photograph was not intended simply as a record. Influenced by the Romantic paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, Griffin shows the scene at night with a lone figure silhouetted in the foreground. The explosion in the sky was created by a powerful mortar firework deliberately shot to light the scene with dramatic impact. The image contains symbolic references in the cruciform shapes, such as the form of the crane and the surveyor's levels on the ground, lit to form crucifix gravestones. As a whole the scene represents not so much a construction site as a war zone.","date":{"text":"22/09/2004","earliest":"2004-09-22","latest":"2004-09-22"}}],"partNumbers":["E.1064-1988"],"accessionNumberNum":"1064","accessionNumberPrefix":"E","accessionYear":1988,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-10-23","recordCreationDate":"2005-06-14","availableToBook":false}}