With hotel rooms starting from £300 and running into the thousands, for many The Savoy would be the ultimate decadent experience. With a history as rich as its clientele, when its doors closed for refurbishment at midday on
the 15th of December 2007, it was officially closed for the first time in its 118-year history.
But just as the proverb says, ‘As one door closes another one opens’, and open it did for photographer Siobhán Doran, whose access-all-areas gave her the unique opportunity to record the changes taking place within the aging interiors of this incredible iconic building.
Her images do not only record the transition from beginning to end of the transformation, they also seize the multiplicity of the task at hand through sensitively composed glimpses at the very bare bones of the building. The layers as they are peeled away expose the changes in time like the rings of a tree trunk. Each layer has its purpose whether it be for function or façade. Abstract alignments of brick against concrete, broken tiles and floral wallpaper become pictorial and pleasing on the eye. Each element no matter how deconstructed retains a beauty, indeed an appreciation of the past as it steps towards the glossy future of decadent delights to come.
As the book progresses and the detail transforms from structural achievement to stunning artistry, Doran continues her document in the same way. In treating each and every element of the process as such she brings The Savoy
to life and more importantly her photographs also. This is a fascinating book from every angle and I urge you to discover it for yourself.
The book is a Clothbound hardback,
178 pages, 290mm x 290mm
, 110 colour plates
ISBN: 978-1-907893-14-8
It can be purchased gift wrapped and signed at The Savoy http://www.shopatthesavoy.com/the-savoy-collection/gifts/restoration-book.html
alternatively, an unsigned copy is available at http://www.dewilewispublishing.com/GENERAL/NEW&RECENT.html
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