War / conflict

British Watchtowers

€70.00
These high tech towers, constructed in the mid 1980’s, primarily in the mountainous border region of South Armagh, were landmarks in a thirty year conflict in and over Northern Ireland, euphemistically called “The Troubles”. The Towers were finally demolished between 2000 and 2007 as part of the British government’s “Demilitarization” program for Northern Ireland. For over a year Donovan Wylie photographed these towers.
Observation, whether by the human eye, or the technical eye of a surveillance camera, requires an architectural structure that elevates the viewer into a position of command. The system of Iron Age hill forts, built across Britain from around 500 BC, used natural promontories to survey the surrounding landscape. Two thousand years later, the British army used a similar system of watchtowers to survey the territories of Northern Ireland, and to observe the actions of the local people under their occupation. The lines of sight from the watchtowers generated a kind of virtual environment enveloping the border region of Northern Ireland.

Bibliographic Details

Author Donovan Wylie
Publisher Steidl
Place of publication Göttingen
Year 2007
Edition First edition
Binding Hardcover including dustjacket
ISBN 9783865214997
Collation 76 pp.
Language English
Dimensions 24x31

Condition Report

Condition New
Cover New
Notes new in plastic wrappers
In stock