Spirit of Brooklands captured in series of historic photographs
7:00am Sunday 23rd September 2012 in News
Spirit of Brooklands captured in series of historic photographs
Photographer Douglas Kurn pays homage to the old Brooklands circuit in his four-year project, the Spirit of Brooklands, encapsulating what is left of the historic home of racing, writes Lauren O’Brien.
For years, thousands of spectators stood in Brooklands’ coliseum to enjoy pioneering motorsport.
Mr Kurn says: “To contrast with the track at its peak I decided to shoot the project at night and under very still weather conditions, to emphasise that it is no longer used and so to represent the spirit of Brooklands.”
Kurn has produced more than 30 images of the raceway, 24 of which are displayed on his website douglaskurn.com.
Brooklands captured his imagination nine years ago, when he looked opposite the major retail stores in the area and saw the remains of the legendary banking.
The 3.25-mile circuit, built in 1907, enabled cars to drive at speeds of more than 100mph, with banking made of concrete that blasted noise from the cars into onlookers.
Final races at Brooklands took place in 1939 due to damage caused by bombs in World War II and the track was forced to be disguised from the air, though much of it still remains today.
The project is set to be on exhibition when funding and locations have been secured.
Two images are in the running for the landscape of the year competition and will be on display at the National Theatre in November.
