Belvedere Hotel.


I often use derelict or abandoned buildings in my work, particularly hotels. During the 1970's and '80's I was a hotel receptionist so I have a personal insight into the changing face of seaside hotels and it saddens me to see so many of the traditional hotels demolished.

The abandoned buildings suggest an absence and a presence and I see them as metaphors for absence and loss. The buildings are transformed by their decay into a physical trace of the past, something that is fragile and is about to be lost. 

The Belvedere was made up of several hotels over the years but closed early 2014. Although the buildings that make up the hotel site look unexceptional, they all have an interesting history, dating back to the mid 1800’s when they were all built as private residences. With the idea that past activity leaves a resonance, I explored the stories behind the buildings.