The Unsettled Dust
The idea of creating an online gallery of photographs inspired by the stories of Robert Aickman was always destined to fail. For one thing, I didn't go out searching for imagery that mirrored Aickman's. Instead I found them in the tens of thousands of images on file. That meant a broad interpretation of a writer whose descriptions were precise yet imaginary. Could I have found scenes of barren moorland such as he described in 'the stains'? Possibly, but what about those vivid elements; the ruined vehicles and structures that littered it? What ofd the lichen, the stains, that creep through the story? That would take more luck than was on my side.
I have tried to interest some friends in Aickman's stories only for them to be utterly unmoved, or worse, confused. Some writers of horror/supernatural/weird fiction can reach out with a descriptive generosity so that anyone can get the idea. Aickman's vision is more acute. If it is unfamiliar, or you are not in the mood, forget it. There are certain things that need to be understood.
1) Aickman's world is black and white. You can put down a story and not be aware of a single colour referred to in it. The best analogy in photography I can think of is a style that came out of Eastern Europe in the 1950s and '60s - very sharply focused, cold but not unemotional. this is a world where the source of the supernatural resides in failed ambition. Most of his characters are resigned to mediocrity. They may not always engage our sympathies but we understand where they are coming from.
2) Aickman's landscapes are bleak. The weather is perpetually miserable, but never horrid. Think of a wasteland under grey skies and drizzle that threatens to break into a downpour but never quite manages it. It is a world of jackets and scarves but not overcoats. Think of the way the yellow light of a late afternoon than make some people look seedy and ill at ease.
3) Aickman's supernatural qualities reside in a sequence of scenes and images that on their own are perfectly logical. You could take a story like 'the same dog', break down each of its component scenes and agree they are mundane. Cumulatively however, you have been pushed into a world you feel is vaguely familiar yet discomforting.
4) The devil s in the details. For me, the most vivid moment in 'The Swords' is the scream at the end. we know it has nothing to do with what has just unfolded yet it is inextricable. In 'The Hospice', we understand that as soon as he gets lost Maybury is headed for trouble, but the confirmation comes when he is served his first course at dinner. There is such an idea as too much of a good thing.
5) The Aickman moment, when we realize through a series of small clues that things are not as right as they otherwise appear. We've all had them. The last time for me was when I caught a bus through Nevada, as far from Aickman's sunless skies as you can get. About ten minutes after leaving Reno's Greyhound station I became aware that the five people sitting nearest me were all on medication. One was talking to himself. Another sat down, let his head droop and began mumbling.
6) The writers closest in spirit to Aickman are not Stephen King or H. P. Lovecraft but Graham Greene, when he wrote about London, Philip Larkin, when he described the landscape, and Patrick Hamilton, when he wrote about disillusion. Aickman may be classified as a writer of horror or supernatural tales, but he was above all, a chronicler of the English middle class.
7) The most extreme horror readers of Aickman will ever experience will have nothing to do with zombies, ghosts etc, but the persistent awareness that things could have been different.
8) If you have never heard of or read Aickman, none of the above will make sense. If you have, you will disagree with everything below.
The idea of creating an online gallery of photographs inspired by the stories of Robert Aickman was always destined to fail. For one thing, I didn't go out searching for imagery that mirrored Aickman's. Instead I found them in the tens of thousands of images on file. That meant a broad interpretation of a writer whose descriptions were precise yet imaginary. Could I have found scenes of barren moorland such as he described in 'the stains'? Possibly, but what about those vivid elements; the ruined vehicles and structures that littered it? What ofd the lichen, the stains, that creep through the story? That would take more luck than was on my side.
I have tried to interest some friends in Aickman's stories only for them to be utterly unmoved, or worse, confused. Some writers of horror/supernatural/weird fiction can reach out with a descriptive generosity so that anyone can get the idea. Aickman's vision is more acute. If it is unfamiliar, or you are not in the mood, forget it. There are certain things that need to be understood.
1) Aickman's world is black and white. You can put down a story and not be aware of a single colour referred to in it. The best analogy in photography I can think of is a style that came out of Eastern Europe in the 1950s and '60s - very sharply focused, cold but not unemotional. this is a world where the source of the supernatural resides in failed ambition. Most of his characters are resigned to mediocrity. They may not always engage our sympathies but we understand where they are coming from.
2) Aickman's landscapes are bleak. The weather is perpetually miserable, but never horrid. Think of a wasteland under grey skies and drizzle that threatens to break into a downpour but never quite manages it. It is a world of jackets and scarves but not overcoats. Think of the way the yellow light of a late afternoon than make some people look seedy and ill at ease.
3) Aickman's supernatural qualities reside in a sequence of scenes and images that on their own are perfectly logical. You could take a story like 'the same dog', break down each of its component scenes and agree they are mundane. Cumulatively however, you have been pushed into a world you feel is vaguely familiar yet discomforting.
4) The devil s in the details. For me, the most vivid moment in 'The Swords' is the scream at the end. we know it has nothing to do with what has just unfolded yet it is inextricable. In 'The Hospice', we understand that as soon as he gets lost Maybury is headed for trouble, but the confirmation comes when he is served his first course at dinner. There is such an idea as too much of a good thing.
5) The Aickman moment, when we realize through a series of small clues that things are not as right as they otherwise appear. We've all had them. The last time for me was when I caught a bus through Nevada, as far from Aickman's sunless skies as you can get. About ten minutes after leaving Reno's Greyhound station I became aware that the five people sitting nearest me were all on medication. One was talking to himself. Another sat down, let his head droop and began mumbling.
6) The writers closest in spirit to Aickman are not Stephen King or H. P. Lovecraft but Graham Greene, when he wrote about London, Philip Larkin, when he described the landscape, and Patrick Hamilton, when he wrote about disillusion. Aickman may be classified as a writer of horror or supernatural tales, but he was above all, a chronicler of the English middle class.
7) The most extreme horror readers of Aickman will ever experience will have nothing to do with zombies, ghosts etc, but the persistent awareness that things could have been different.
8) If you have never heard of or read Aickman, none of the above will make sense. If you have, you will disagree with everything below.
