MAY 2024 · ROAM
ALL RIDERS MUST USE A MAT
Brighton, East Sussex
The backstreets first. Turquoise storefronts with yellow-framed windows and striped awnings. A black brick corridor running under a railway arch, graffiti on both walls, industrial ceiling fittings overhead. A bicycle locked to a pipe in a narrow alley where every surface has been painted over and painted over again. The layers are readable: bubble letters under fat caps under paste-ups under tags under more paste-ups.
The Tarot Dungeon has striped wooden doors, painted cream and burgundy, and a figure standing outside in a red jacket. They're not performing anything. The sign above the door doesn't say what happens inside.
These rides are maintained because the maintenance is the product.
Brighton — May 2024
At the pier end things shift. The Palace Pier's entrance is Tudor-style pastiche, which was the point of it a century ago. Carousel horses under the canopy — white and gold, painted detail still intact, turning slowly. A bright yellow fairground structure sits on the deck against a turquoise sea. These rides are maintained because the maintenance is the product.
On the beach: a rusted fairground ride frame, fenced off on the shingle, waiting for something. Alongside it, the beach shelters — modern black and white geometry, grid windows, clean lines, nothing to do with the pier aesthetic. They coexist without comment.
A brutalist concrete ramp curves up from the promenade, its railings decorative metal scrollwork applied to something that didn't need decoration and didn't ask for it.
The weathered turquoise building on the pier has faded text across its facade — the letters too bleached to read clearly. The building is still used. The sign is just what sun and salt leave behind.
Both kinds of Brighton are kept. The painted and the faded. The maintained carousel and the rusting wreck on the shingle. No one seems to be deciding between them.
Turquoise storefront with yellow framed window and striped awning displaying merchandise
Narrow graffitied urban alley with red doors and bunting strung across entrance
Black brick corridor with colorful graffiti murals and industrial ceiling detail
Bicycle locked in narrow alley surrounded by layered street art and graffiti tags
Graffitied industrial underpass with sharp angular shadows cast across brick walls
Dense green ivy overgrowth covering wall with vibrant graffiti art showing through
Deteriorating shop window with layered graffiti, painted frames and boarded glass
Tarot dungeon entrance with striped wooden doors and figure in red jacket standing outside
Brighton Palace Pier stretching into sea with Tudor-style roof architecture and pedestrians
Vintage carousel horses beneath ornate pier canopy with colorful painted decoration details
Bright yellow fairground structure on pier against turquoise sea and pale sky
Modern black and white beach shelter with geometric window pattern overlooking shingle beach
Weathered turquoise pier building facade with faded text and architectural details
Rusted fairground ride wreckage displayed on pebble beach with fencing and sea beyond
Curved brutalist concrete ramp structure with decorative metal railings and dramatic angles
Corner shopfront with turquoise weathered base and colorful graffiti covering brick walls
Modern building with tower and historic street lamp casting shadows on pedestrian street
Brighton beach with striped deckchairs arranged on pebbles and pier structure visible
Dramatic spiral staircase tower against moody overcast sky in minimalist composition
Modern wooden decking with street art installations and mixed architectural building styles
Urban street scene with historic buildings and contemporary architectural structures
Modern black beach shelter with geometric window grid overlooking expanse of sea
Weathered turquoise building facade with faded signage against cloudy overcast sky
Rusted vintage ship wreck remnant displayed on pebbly shore with beach landscape
Brutalist concrete structure with sweeping curved ramp and metal railings
Derelict corner building with turquoise shopfront and vibrant graffiti street art
Weathered beachfront building with protective windows overlooking pebble shore and sea
Brighton seafront pier structure with period architectural details against overcast sky
Abandoned fairground ride on beach with weathered metal frame and coastal landscape
Concrete underpass with shadow patterns and structural architectural geometry details