Battersea, and Other Abandoned Power Plants, Part 2

"QUANTUM SHOT" #589
Link - article by Mark Obstfeld and Avi Abrams

Never Obsolete: From Generating Electricity to Generating Art

Some power stations are destined to fall into ruins, yet some are starting to be recognized as monuments to technology and a source of artistic inspiration, and still others are even being converted into ultra-modern shopping malls and theme parks.

I find this trend highly fascinating, as we continue with our series featuring the most sublime abandoned power stations - the ones that linger in our subconscious, generating bittersweet emotions and inspiration instead of good old electricity.

(Richmond Power Station, image credit: Joseph E. B. Elliott)

("Sunshine Turbine" inside Richmond Power Station - image credit: Ethan A. Wallace)

The Pink Floyd Power Plant: Pigs, Tanks, and Avant Garde

In our first part, London-based photographer Mark Obstfeld - a good friend of DRB - showed us London’s fascinating and historic abandoned substations. Today, we are delighted to feature his photographs of the Battersea Power Station, taken in late 2006 when the plant was opened for an exhibition of Chinese art (it is rarely open to the public).

Pink Floyd fans will recognise this structure instantly - Floyd hung a pink inflatable pig between the two front towers for the cover of their 1977 Animals album. "The inflatable pig was tethered to one of the power station's southern chimneys, but broke loose from its moorings and, to the astonishment of pilots in approaching planes, rose into the flight path of Heathrow Airport. Police helicopters tracked its course, until it landed in Kent." (more info).

(images via)

The station also appeared in a number of movies, including Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage, The Beatles' movie Help!, and Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film Full Metal Jacket (with many scenes shot inside the station).

Wandering around in the gloom and mystery of Battersea shattered interiors, you can find yourself face-to-face with... a tank:

The tank was a part of exhibition which took place in 2006 inside Battersea - some of the original art is visible inside one of the turbine halls as well.

(images credit: Mark Obstfeld)

Steam Turbines, Coal Fires and Brass Pipes

Another abandoned power plant with some beauty to spare (or "kept its electrifying good looks", if we may say so), is this condensing power unit at Västerås in central Sweden (built in 1915-17). Swedish photographer Jakob Ehrensvard explored it in detail, producing some evocative pictures:

The control room looks definitely well-preserved, with the 1940s-style plastic knobs, dials and a general claustrophobic feel.

Flying inside the Death Star:

Turbine Hall Sanctuary:

(images credit: Jakob Ehrensvard)

Here is an Art Nouveau-styled power station, with a strangely streamlined look:

(image credit: K-Alexander-B)

Another find inside the Richmond Power Station presents itself as a work of art:

("Sunshine Turbine" - image credit: Ethan A. Wallace)

Abandoned Mystery Site (What Could This Be?)

This particularly intriguing structure in the Caucasas Mountains near Kislovodsk, Russia, prompts all sorts of questions about its origins. A Cold War laser gun testing ground? Astrophysical observatory gone to rust?