Max Ferguson (UWE BA Photography & MA Photography alumnus) has been selected for the New Narratives award by IC Visual Lab, delivered in partnership with UWE Bristol. The award explores overlooked histories, relationships between seemingly separate places, hidden histories and archives or alternative futures.
Rooted in the shifting histories of North Kensington, Max’s project (titled Whiplash Memorial) poetically reflects on the spaces between memory and architecture. At its heart is the Westway flyover — a towering, brutalist structure that snakes through the community, touching both personal and collective histories, from Max’s childhood flat to the shadow of Grenfell Tower.
This exploration of how urban infrastructure shapes place and memory resonates deeply with the context of IC Visual Lab in Bristol. IC Visual Lab’s Reading Room sits in Old Market, a neighbourhood forever transformed by the construction of the M32. Much like the Westway in London, the M32 sliced through communities, erasing streets and severing connections, leaving a complex legacy of displacement, resistance and adaptation.
The award will support Max with his ongoing work in progress, leading to an exhibition at the IC Visual Lab Reading Room later in 2025.
