All Road Lead To Watford Gap
Or rather, all roads lead to a bunch of warehouses in the middle of England. Also known as ‘The Golden Triangle’- this logistical sweet-spot is intersected by major motorways and encompasses Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire with parts of Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
From here, a lorry driver can access 85% of the British population within 4.5 hours - the legal limit a HGV driver can travel without a break - and is conveniently located a similar amount of time from major ports in the South. Often the first place lorries stop after entering England, this ‘Golden’ area has seen a huge jump in asylum seekers - a number ending up at the unlikely destination of Watford Gap Service station on the M6.
When a child claims asylum in the UK they become the legal responsibility of the local authority in which they are discovered. As such, despite being miles from any border, Northamptonshire council have become responsible for 100s of asylum seekers - preceded by only a few counties in the South.
This set of images imagines what might have been an individual's first impressions, as well as exploring the transient nature of a globalised economy that impacts more than just commerce and commodities. Shot on an disposable camera on a single visit, I wonder what roads lead from this ephemeral place.
