I FIRST SAW THE RATCLIFFE POWER STATION
IN 1983 AS I WAS DRIVING UP THE MT. MOTORWAY
TO PHOTOGRAPH IN THE INDUSTRIAL NORTHWEST
OF ENGLAND. CLOUDS OF STEAM COULD BE SEEN
FROM A DISTANCE, AND THEN THE POWER STATION
ITSELF, WITH ITS EIGHT COOLING TOWERS
ARRANGED IN TWO ROWS. I REMEMBER FEELING
A CURIOUS MIXTURE OF INTEREST, EXCITEMENT
AND UNEASINESS—REMARKABLY AKIN TO MY FIRST
VIEWING OF STONEHENGE. ON SUBSEQUENT
VISITS, WHEN PHOTOGRAPHING INSIDE THE
STATION, I WAS AWED BY THE MAGNITUDE OF
THE PLACE, AND ITS FEROCITY BY NIGHT.
RATCLIFFE SEEMS AN IMMENSE MONUMENT TO
20TH CENTURY TECHNOLOGY, A GIANT STAGE
SET WITH RADICAL CHANGES IN MOOD AND
ATMOSPHERE, A METROPOLIS IN ITS OWN RIGHT.

MICHAEL KENNA
APRIL 1986