This series examines juxtaposition of the glass pyramids against the classical architecture of the Louvre, and transitions through the Paris metro.

Juxtaposition

There was significant controversy when IM Pei’s pyramids won the competition for the redesign of the entry in the forecourt of the Louvre.  They were felt to be unsympathetic to the historic precinct.  However their message is one of juxtaposition  - the new and the old, angular against curved, glass and steel contrasting with stone and slate.  They divide the space into interesting corridors and intersect with the buildings in unexpected ways.  They allow reinterpretation of the classical lines of the Louvre Palace by through transmission and deconstructed cubist reflections.

Transition

Paris Metro is a place of transitions.  Corridors, escalators and stairs snake their way to underground caverns; from dark to bright, the light artificial and glaring, the dark engulfing and gloomy; people on the move, on their way to somewhere. Absorbed in themselves or their circle, they are uncommunicative during their transit.  The physical place bears the marks of countless transits and changes from clean and hard-edged to dirty and worn. 

The set of images communicates the sense of these transitions, the stairs and escalators up and down, the dim corners and sweeping hard lines, the darkness of the tunnels and the harshness of the artificial light. It is an unfriendly place with few vestiges of comfort.  People are haloed in light and cast in shadow as they hurry through. They are vulnerable.