the submarine models – imperial war museum

Two separate female tourists draping themselves over the second world war ‘biber’ submarine for a photo opportunity. Inches from the controls where a lone German operator died. That sinking feeling…plumbing the depths ? What is the culturally accepted passage of time before respect is ceded ?

Reflections

I ended up developing an image that used the cold green-black colour that could be interpreted as linking well to the sea – but not the pleasant blue of seaside association, rather the wild, deep and threatening colour one might be used to well beyond the coast in desperate conditions. The lines marked out reminded me of measures on an instrument for recording ‘depth’, as on a submarine, or down the side of a ship. The moodiness of the painting’s overall ‘look’ seemed to work better in reflecting the girls’ obvious lack of connection with what the equipment was used for, or what it stood for, as opposed to light and frivolous colours that might have been used in a more ironic way.