Suffolk Apocalyptic

Here are the results of another old film that I recently processed, which turned out to have a selection of images of Suffolk landscapes, including the Anglo-Saxon burial ground at Sutton Hoo and one of the many desolate North Sea beaches, at Dunwich Heath.

These landscapes are really strange to explore, haunted and harrowing, surrounded by dull agricultural land. The coast is particularly strange, with its pill boxes and martello towers, and the cold brown North Sea. Orford Ness is also worth exploring with its eerie mix of abundant bird life and post-apocalyptic bleakness.

Sutton Hoo is a landscape that vibrates with history – a burial ground of warriors and kings, a liminal place between life and death, between the past and present. A cradle of the English people, suspected resting place of King Raedwald of East Anglia – or ‘launching place’ might be a better description, from where his great ship set sail into the world of the dead.

The film was badly exposed and degraded, resulting in some otherworldly effects, which I rather like.