Newport, South Wales has been a port city since medieval times and its river a key exportation route during the industrial revolution. In the 20th century, with the decline of coal mining in Britain, accelerated under the Margaret Thatcher government, the river Usk lost its main commercial use, and with it a sense of common good.
This series, made whilst studying photography in Newport, is an exploration of the role that the river -as symbol- plays in the creation of identity and sense of place in a post-industrial society -to capture both the nostalgia produced by this detachment and the disposable quality of public spaces that define the economical structure and society we are transitioning towards
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