Smith’s Dock

Commissioning Body – British Shipbuilders

The Smith’s Dock work arose with the announcement of the closure of the yard by British Shipbuilders in May 1986. Ian Macdonald and Len Tabner were already working together on a book about the river Tees estuary, which was eventually published in 1989. Smith’s Dock was a major part of life on the industrial river and would have been part of a larger picture of the river scape

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Offshore

Commissioning Body – CONOCO

The Offshore commission, which included photographing in the shipyards of the Tyne, where offshore modules and accommodation platforms were being constructed, on the heavy lifting barge DB102 in the North Sea, on a deep sea Belgium tug and on a drilling platform in the south of the North Sea, arose directly from the Smith’s Dock work previously commissioned by British Shipbuilders and Northern Arts.

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Hartlepool Fish Quay

Commissioning Body – Hartlepool Museums Service

The plans to develop a new and reduced size fish quay in old Hartlepool on the north east coast of England, saw Ian working under commission from Hartlepool Museums Service to record the last days of the old quay, its sheds, buildings and, more especially its old market, before demolition swept everything before it.

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