THE PYLONS

I had always had a fascination with electric sub stations, where huge power is loaded onto and off of the lines carried by pylons. They represent an immense unseeable power and connection. These themes considered on higher level have a spiritual aspect and on a physical level could represent sexual power and the connectedness between people.

Substations are worlds unto themselves with strange components and inhuman forms that aren’t found anywhere else. You can never go into them, but you can get close up and look into their terrifying corridors. When I photographed these ceramic insulators from the security fence at the substation in north London, felt energized just from the look of them, and from the hum of the electricity. In using this imagery I knew I could create a charged atmosphere, combined with the deep base from club sound systems. In the presence of power and danger, we become more alert and this feeling would energize the dance floor. In the final design, worked from this photoshoot, I created strong central vertebrae and three-dimensional sides that invite you to enter this unknown and potentially dangerous landscape.

The design became the second commission for Plink Plonk Records. The Pylons were first used at Sub Terrain, where Juan Atkins (Detroit) and Mr. C played in the Techno Room. The flyer read, “In the deepest, darkest and the most testing area lies…. Sub terrain …. Experimental house and techno in the vaults under London.” They were later used extensively for the club nights Atomic Jam at the Que Club Birmingham, where Sven Vath, Richie Hawtin, and Jeff Mills played and at warehouse parties in London, Switzerland, and Melbourne. When they were used in a marquee for New York Fashion Week, in which the show’s designer played a deep background hum over the PA as the buyers entered to create an anticipatory tension.