Project Arcade

 Photographer Amy Davies is in the fledgling stages of a visual project documenting Cardiff's Victorian Arcades.  It's a really different project, borne out of an inadvertent photograph and an unassuming tweet, which you can read all about in her blog.

My personal favourites out of the inital collection are the pictures taken using the hipstamatic iphone app, the simplest of digital camera equipment. I love these images because I think the old-fashioned effect created by the technique are perfect for this project, almost giving a nod to the shops I prefer in the arcades - independent vintage ventures like Looby Loos and Hobos. 

The antiquated nature of the pictures remind the viewer that the Arcades could become a mere relic of Cardiff's past rather than the functioning spaces that they currently are. I don't want to scaremonger, but like Amy I've noticed the vacant shops and worried about the future of the arcades and the businesses within them.

 

Many of the images convey with clarity the tiny details that can be missed when you’re rushing through the arcades, like the handmade marketing ploys in the shop windows (above) and the pure architectural beauty of the Victorian buildings themselves (below).  These photos that are void of the hipstamatic effect with all its blurs and quirks are taken with a more traditional digital camera.

 

The people who own the shops and who work tirelessly to keep their businesses going in the face of recession, interfering roadworks on St. Mary’s Street and the evil capitalist venture that is St. David’s 2 (sucking the soul out of shopping and independence - and I say that only half in jest dear reader) also need to be recognised as integral elements of the arcades.

That’s why I’m looking forward very much to the upcoming portrait shots that Amy has planned in the coming weeks of owners on their premises, along with seeing how the project develops altogether.  Watch this space.

(Images: Amy Davies).

Edit: Blogger Lucy Sherriff of Vintage Cardiff has explored issues surrounding why Cardiff's Arcades are facing trouble.  Read her interesting and informative posts here.