Barbican’s Utopian Brutalist Photography
here are 4.000 residents across 2.000 flats at the Barbican. The city within the city is the peculiar and interesting subject of this photography series of the utopian Barbican State and Art Center.
In this utopian state, among the harsh architecture, as a contrast, there is greenery, ponds, lakes, gardens and one of the best art centres in London, a conservatory, cinema, schools and a church. There are suit people crossing the state in a rush going towards London’s financial hub, residents walking their dogs, art enthusiasts, curious people, art lovers, workers and photographers, this fusion of everything and everywhere creates a unique photography contrast and style that can be only captured at the Barbican.
The size of the Barbican state is overwhelming, one can get easily lost across the several tunnels and underpasses, the high-rises, harsh facades, dark colours, moody corners, silhouettes creeping out from everywhere, and the cinematic tunnels results in a gritty brutalist atmosphere. The Barbican can be classified as utopian & brutalist architecture, a futurist vision built in the 60s in the heart of Central London.
In the dystopian movie High-Rise with Tom Hiddleston, directed by Ben Wheatley, a doctor moves into a London skyscraper where rising tension and social class warfare lead to anarchy in a high-rise complex, the aesthetics of the movie and the Barbican are similar, I suspect that the Barbican mise-en scene inspired the movie cinematography, which is the ideal setting for a futuristic failed dystopian compound.
This utopian state never fails to impress me, sometimes I wonder what is like to live there, what is like to wake up every day among high-rises and take the underground tunnels, maybe in a not-so-distant future, considering the living crisis is major cities we are bound to live in high-rise like the Barbicans, but until that happens I am happy to enjoy this unique place, and glad that this dystopian style of living didn’t materialise, not yet.
I suspect that the Barbican mise-en scene inspired the High-Rise movie cinematography, which is the ideal setting for a futuristic failed dystopian compound.
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