Ranworth Under Repair (2015)

Norfolk’s fine medieval buildings are a constant pleasure, but their architectural splendour is inevitably compromised by their gradual physical deterioration and by the practicalities of their everyday use.  This is a recurrent theme in my work.  In 2015 the 15th-century church of St Helen, Ranworth, was clad in scaffolding, inside and out, for several months while the roof was re-leaded and the rainwater disposal systems were repaired.  The resulting visual juxtapositions of ancient and modern, permanent and temporary, flint and leaded glass and corrugated iron and billowing protective sheeting presented a view of the building that had its own pragmatic integrity and beauty.