A Semblance of Place: Alex R.M. Thompson

A Semblance of Place presents a vivid representation of the city, rendered primarily in copperplate etching. The works use urban interiors and exteriors to describe a landscape frozen in some state of tumultuous change; towers totter skywards, harvesting components of their own foundations to drive their upward (and ultimately perilous) growth, while vast halls hold isolated monuments to deeply flawed power structures. The spaces, largely bereft of occupants, invite the viewer to explore the darkly Romantic cityscapes, winding between crumbling brick walls, through yawning arches, and into incomplete apartment blocks. Within these architectural remnants, questions of climate, political upheaval, and resource consumption linger in the challenging tension between beauty and destruction.