Seaside

The British coast out-of-season is a surreal place. Where the colourful theme parks and arcades are in stark contrast to the tea coloured sea and bleak deserted streets.

Its distinctive architecture, from carefully planned precincts, with squares, crescents and promenades, to gaudy amusement arcades, beach huts and piers are left in stasis. The sea front waits for the return of summer and with it the holidaymakers.

Within the photographs I have isolated features that are synonymous with the beach as the seaside often inspires nostalgia, for a time when life's pleasures were, 'simpler'.

Few people are present in this series of photographs in an attempt to make the compositions appear like backdrops or stage sets. It is this quality of artifice that often pervades our experience of the seaside.

About Peter Ainsworth

Peter Ainsworth is a British photographer who captures the unique character of British seaside towns during their off-season periods. His work focuses on the stark contrast between the vibrant entertainment structures and the desolate winter atmosphere, creating a compelling narrative about these spaces when they are devoid of their usual summer crowds.