On various grounds, the Westminster Bridge has permission to be bold. An ancient structure rebuilt to reflect its significance as a thoroughfare. At one time the bridge was nicknamed the ‘Bridge of Fools’ because at the time funding was not raised in the typical way (private enterprise and tolls); instead, money was raised via a then-fashionable ‘lottery’. Even its colour – green – is significant. In 1970 it was painted to match the seats in the House of Commons standing near the bridge.
The Westminster Bridge bold structure hogs the scene. County Hall stands reticently behind – its terracotta roofs studded with dormer windows and elegant flagpoles – regimentally white against the tiles. And here solid solidity begins to fail… artistic impressions emphasis a sense of more transient matters.
The sky is a stark, pale hue emphasizing the large contrasting structures that stand ghostlike in the scene. The Southbank Place apartment block and London Eye, upon close examination, reveal details, but so subtly, that in places the effect is transparent; almost invisible.