What the book will be about and who will read it.

I want to base my work on a simple concept which is the 7 stages of empire. My Photography and Critical Exploration Module is currently about Empire and its stages. The book will be an historical narrative which will use still life photography to convey the main theme of the book. The book relies on a sequence of images to convey the narrative to the viewer, as well as some text which will accompany the images explaining the chronological events depicted.  

British army general and historian Sir John Bagot Glubb (1897-1987) wrote a book in 1978 called The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival. The book followed the premise of all empires have a time line which sees them going through stages of decline. These stages include 

1. The age of outburst (or pioneers).
2. The age of conquests.
3. The age of commerce.
4. The age of affluence.
5. The age of intellect.
6. The age of decadence.
7. The age of decline and collapse.

The pattern can apply to all empires that have been and gone throughout history. When Glubb wrote his works about empires, he was referring to The United States of America and it's rise in the 20th century and its inevitable decline. America came out of World War 2 the only country with nuclear weapons and interest to be paid in loans given to Europe, Japan and The Soviet Union. America engaged in the space race with Russia and Vietnam took precedent to rid communists from South East Asia. All this expenditure on fighting communism saw America squander opportunities to make America great. In recent years, America has gone into a decline. 

In our recent times, we are seeing a financial crash in 2008 which stemmed from America and affected most of the globe. All empires seem to follow the same pattern. According to The Life Cycles of Empires: Lessons for America Today? | United Church of God (ucg.org) All empires as a whole follow the same pattern " They went through a cycle of stages as they started, expanded, matured, declined and collapsed"

The first and second stages are connected and are outburst and pioneers is an age of "warriors and adventures" where new lands are taken from other less developed countries often. A good example is the rise of The British Empire which saw individuals like Robert Clive win the successive battle at Plassey- which got Britain a foothold in India in the mid C18 century. Another example is Hernán Cortés, who was a Spanish and played a part in  conquering The Aztec Empire of South America in the C16. 

The third stage is the age of commerce and trade. Once the enemies of the empire are vanquished and a market structure has been put into place through trading the raw material or assets of the conquered area, commercial trade can begin. According to The Life Cycles of Empires: Lessons for America Today? | United Church of God (ucg.org "the following ages of commerce and affluence, businessmen and merchants—who normally value material success and dislike taking unnecessary risks—take over at the highest levels of society. Their societies downplay the values of the soldier" Here, we see trade such as the British formed The East India Company exporting spices. Commercial trade with other nations kept Britain a trading nation for 300 years and contributed to the nations wealth. However, Britain did trade ethically and morally wrong cargo such as playing a huge part in the slave trade. Until it was make illegal. 

The age of Affluence sees empires benefit from trading with multiple nations and the benefits of science and engineering sees trading nations having a better understanding of the oceans and inventions like the printing press means maps are circulated to all seafaring nations. Ship building and eventually engines on ships would see a voyage that once took months, taking a week-this would eventually lead to air travel, cutting journeys down to hours. 

The age of intellect sees universities and schools created out of the profits of affluence. We saw this during the C19 with Victorian philanthropists building schools and universities to educate all. This leads to a general improvement in educational standards. From this age of intellect, we see individuals who challenge religious reason with science. Examples being Charles Darwin and his General Theory of Creation and Evolution.  of Natural Selection- The Origin of Species (1858) would challenge once concreate views.

The age of decadence according to The Life Cycles of Empires: Lessons for America Today? | United Church of God (ucg.org "The corrosive effects of material success encourage the upper class and the common people to discard the self-confident, self-disciplined values that helped to create the empire. Then the empire eventually collapses. Perhaps an outside power, such as the so-called barbarians in Rome's case, wipes it out. Or maybe an energetic internal force, such as the pro-capitalist reformers in the Soviet Union, finishes the job instead. The growth of wealth and comfort clearly can undermine the values of character, such as self-sacrifice and discipline, that led to a given empire's creation. Then the empire so affected by moral decline grows weaker and more vulnerable to destruction by forces arising inside or outside of it"

The age of decline and collapse. 

We have seen this stage in all empires through history. Especially during the Roman Empire. The Romans boarders were that large, they could not defend them. In the end, the empire fell back behind walls and eventually, it attacked itself from within. According to Arnold Toynbee | Biography, Theory, Books, A Study of History, & Facts | Britannica "Arnold Toynbee examined the rise and fall of 26 civilizations in the course of human history, and he concluded that they rose by responding successfully to challenges under the leadership of creative minorities composed of elite leaders. Civilizations declined when their leaders stopped responding creatively, and the civilizations then sank owing to the sins of nationalism, militarism, and the tyranny of a despotic minority"

The decline of an empire can be slow or be very quick depending on internal and external factors. The Soviet Union was a swift collapse which occurred in a 5 year period. From Mikhail Gorbachev reforms of the mid 80s until the falling of The Berlin wall in the late 80s. 

I feel confident I can use photography to illustrate all these stages in history. However, to save space if I decide to make a zine, I will put the first two ages together-as they basically mean the same thing. Therefore, the age of pioneers and conquests will share an image. The reason for this is also to save space on the zine as I do not have much room. 

Other photographers who use similar concepts to mine are Simon Brann Thorpe. His work of  "cinematic landscapes and environmental portraiture, including his series 'Toy Soldiers', a contemporary and compelling Allegory of war, which was shortlisted in the Professional Conceptual category of the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards"

Simon Brann Thorpe - Toy Soldiers | World Photography Organisation

                                                 7 stages of empire - Bing images

Who would be interested in my work

The work I am achieving is a historical narrative, through still life, which is reflected through imagery. The contextual idea is very simple of stages of empire through history. The story of the British Empire is long and arduous for anyone to read, so I have condensed it. The main bullet points are easy to understand of exploration to its eventual decline. I have added text to illustrate the chronological order of events and added images which reflect my point.  

The zine would benefit anybody who doesn't know the story of empire decline as it gives an explanation while promoting my work. It also would be useful for anybody who knows their history on the subject. The zine would not be out of place in a gallery or library which deals with historical narrative and hopes to educate the public. The work does not take itself to seriously as a historical document and a creative process. It is not a celebration of empire, I instead want to add some satire and humor which I hope is clear from the front cover. The work also does not intend to glorify the notion of empire-anybody who knows me knows I am an anarchist so creating a super state to enslave mankind and exploit indigenous people while robbing their natural resources is not my idea of fail play. I instead want to convey an objective document which uses humor to inform the reader. 

The actual getting of the models and solders for the assignment has been difficult. I have been to second hand shops, car boot sales and eBay's to find the right models. The idea of creating historical narrative through toys is common with photographers such as Simon Brann Thorpe or David Levinthal. This medium of photography and model building is common with miniature train enthusiast who create exact replicas of areas which existed in their youth. This is complete with 1980s shops, cars and models painted to represent 1980s fashions. A good example is Goodford Model Railway Layout. (83) Goodford Model Railway Layout Update - September 2022 - YouTube.

I found this while watching a documentary on the Yesterday TV channel which was looking at Hornby Railway and people who build model railways in the UK. Therefore, there is a community which exists who specialize in creating model railways or model worlds. I feel I am finding an outlet I will visit again as I have enjoyed the experience.