Architecture of War

The Guard in a Block House (two soldiers) by Edward Ardizzone
The Guard in a Block House (two soldiers) by Edward Ardizzone

Two soldiers are shown in a blockhouse, one of the many which had been constructed at strategic points. In front of the embrasure there is a theodolite on a tripod.
View Overlooking London by George Kenner
View Overlooking London by George Kenner

This seemingly relaxed and innocent scene at Alexandra Palace is altered by the presence of the watchtowers in the background. Around 3,000 civilians were imprisoned there during the First World War.
A Town Destroyed, Poplar by John Minton
A Town Destroyed, Poplar by John Minton

A view from an elevated position across the bomb damaged buildings of Poplar in East London. In the foreground is a tall roofless, shattered building that demonstrates the effects of aerial bombing.
Roof Spotters by Anthony Gross
Roof Spotters by Anthony Gross

The iconic view of St Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge provides a motivation and focus for the roof spotters as they scrutinise the sky. Next to them is a table covered with mapping equipment.
Liberation by Henry Carr
Liberation by Henry Carr

A view of the remains of an Italian village with soldiers and civilians moving around the ruins of the bombed houses and church.

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Donovan Wylie: Vision as Power

Outposts

Donovan Wylie, one of Britain’s leading contemporary photographers, explores the effects of modern-day military surveillance in Vision as Power.

Image © Donovan Wylie, Afghanistan 2010 (detail).
Arctic

Straddling the lines between documentary and art photography, this exhibition presents a new perspective on how we view conflict and architecture.

Image © Donovan Wylie, Canadian Arctic 2013 (detail).
Green Zone

From British Watchtowers in Northern Ireland, to outposts in Afghanistan and a radar station in the Canadian Arctic, Wylie reveals the impact of surveillance structures on landscapes, the environment, the observer and the observed.

Image © Donovan Wylie, Iraq 2008 (detail).
British Watchtowers

"Vision creates a virtual architecture and is an essential component to the system of control" Donovan Wylie.

Image © Donovan Wylie, Northern Ireland 2006 (detail).

This new exhibition presents the photographs of Donovan Wylie. Wylie, a member of Magnum Photos, is renowned for his interrogation of the impact of modern military architecture on the landscape.

Vision as Power, the culmination of Wylie’s five year collaboration with IWM, brings together five separate projects, two of which are on public display for the first time. Together, photographs from The Maze, British Watchtowers, Green Zone, Outposts and Arctic reflect Wylie’s enduring interest in the concept of vision as power.

The Maze (2002) and British Watchtowers (2005 -2006) investigate the relationship between power, surveillance and control during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Green Zone – commissioned by IWM in 2008 – explores American defensive structures in Baghdad, Iraq. Outposts – commissioned by IWM in conjunction with the Bradford Fellowship in 2010 – is a study of Canadian military observation posts in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The exhibition also features Wylie’s most recent work Arctic (2013). Wylie’s studies of an isolated, unmanned radar station in the remote wastes of the Canadian Arctic address a subject which is steeped in invisibility, yet offers the potential to avoid conflict.

Vision as Power invites us to consider the impact of these powerful, yet vulnerable surveillance structures on the environment, the observer and the observed.