A visit to the site again was a welcome return to the place. I went down on Friday 23rd February. After a very positive meeting with a creative company Francis Knight in the morning I made my way to the estuary. It was an unseasonally mild February day and as I drove down the dusty potholed track to the site, it was a glorious feeling of relief to be back. The light was soft and picked up the textures and myriad of colours of the marsh grass. A herd of cows grazing with their calves looked like a scene from an American plain.
Driving down the track was time consuming trying to avoid all of the huge potholes and rough ground but then it made me re-evaluate time; refocus. I've been caught up in the constant overload of information and activity that seems to be required for life now. As I parked the car at the end of the track and opened the door all I could hear was birdsong and the wind. I just sat there for ages listening, not needing to move or do anything.
Using the car as a base I began drawing. I became obsessed by this tangle of bramble that grew obstinately in a field in front of my viewpoint. I was fascinated by the way it clung onto the patch of ground, its mass of deep purple thorned stems, turning in on itself, creating a clutch of growth. I just drew it obssesively for about 2 hours. In between I was photographing all of these cargo ships that I could see drifting along the sea wall. They became like modern day prison hulks, except they were moving more objects into to Tilbury and taking waste out. A constant exchange of nonsensical activity while I made primal marks on paper and looked at a bush.
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