Fort Gilkicker

Material archive

Fort Gilkicker is an ongoing site-responsive investigation, developed in collaboration with conservation architect Deniz Beck. It begins with documentation: photography, historical research, and the collection of material samples. The architecture and its fabric guide the work.

An ironwork shield frame around a casemate opening — Ironwork shield frame

Bolt heads and blistered paint on corroded iron — Bolt heads and blistered iron

Deep corrosion across a cracked iron plate — Corrosion across a cracked plate

An oval concrete patch set into a rusted iron plate — Concrete patch set into iron

A gun embrasure framing the sea beyond the fort — The sea framed by a gun embrasure

The barrack block reflected in standing water inside a casemate — Standing water beneath a casemate arch

A repeat pattern built from the fort's arched casemate openings, tiled into a dark grid — Casemate openings, set into a grid

A mirrored repeat pattern in blues and stone tones, drawn from painted ironwork — Blue ironwork, mirrored into repeat

A mirrored repeat pattern in green and sand tones, drawn from weathered surfaces — Verdigris and sand, tiled

A vertical stripe repeat in rust red, pale stone and blue-grey, drawn from brickwork and corroded iron — Brick and iron, drawn out as a stripe

The fort is approached as a material archive, where layers of construction, weathering, and repair reveal its history.

Particular attention is being given to the ironwork shield frames, whose corroded surfaces and engineered forms speak of the fort’s military past and its ongoing conservation. Close observation of these structures is the groundwork for a site-specific response that emerges directly from the fort itself.

Year: Ongoing
Materials: Ironwork shield frames, granite, brick, concrete, collected material samples, photographic documentation
Disciplines: Photography, historical research, material sampling, site-responsive practice
Location: Fort Gilkicker, Gosport
Collaborators: Deniz Beck (Conservation Architect), Sally Tyrie (Printmaker)

Next projectSpatial Fragments

Process