English seaside towns have long been associated with entertainment, nostalgia or greasy food but in recent times, they have become increasingly linked to decline. ‘The Seaside Towns That Forgot to Close Down’ documents this visible decay and socio-economic struggle with photographs taken across multiple locations and seasons. This project has become a photographic archive of familiar seaside features such as piers, promenades or arcades, all the while drawing attention to signs of deterioration: rusted structures, fading facades, and rotting materials.
The installation has been designed to slowly be taken apart by the participants, as they try to complete a photograph by slowly ripping through the layers. Once done, the participant can choose to take the removed image with them or to discard it onto the floor. This way, the viewers themselves are directly contributing to the decay of the seaside, and can watch in real time as the project disappears.
The adjoining book is a translation of the installation and encourages you to participate in this act of destruction by ripping at the perforated pages, to discover new photographic combinations, or simply just for fun. The photographs were taken across seven English seaside towns: Bognor Regis, Brighton, Margate, Eastbourne, Bridlington, Whitby and Worthing.
photography, graphic design, everything is by Izabella Lannin. she can be found at @izabella_lannin or @izabella_lann1n on instagram :D
