Finding the past in the new town (2016)

This is a project about memories of Antrim where I live. Antrim used to be a village but in the 1966 became a ‘new town’ due to a textile factory called the British Enakalon which open in 1963. The population grew from 6,000 to 23,000. Unfortunately, the factory closed in the 1980’s. My photographs show the closed factory. The factory is missed in the town. Mark Klett is the photographer that I refer to. The old photos I got are from Len Kinley’s website, he has many interesting photographs. I was born and grew up in Antrim. The economy in the town isn’t great. There is only the town centre and Junction One (outlet shopping). Antrim Castle Grounds is considered one of the top parks in Northern Ireland and in the United Kingdom and it is 400 years. There are so many notable buildings and places of interest in Antrim, such as the Round Tower, Churches, Pogue’s Entry, Riverside, The Old Courthouse, Former Police Barracks, Former Workhouse, streets in the town, and the Castle Grounds. Some aren’t very popular with tourists and the most popular place in the town is the Castle Grounds. 

I decided to show the history of Antrim with “Then and Now’ photographs of ‘what’s missing in Antrim’. Which takes old photographs and integrates them into photographs that have been taken of the present day. It is a re-photographic project. I have always been interested in history, in particular the history surrounding the town I grew up in.

There is a strong connection between history and photography. It is stories of the past that can be supported by photographs from the past. I find night time photography particularly interesting as in darkness a place is transformed into something different.