Astounding Aerial Photography By Alex Maclean

Tabish Khan
By Tabish Khan Last edited 120 months ago
Astounding Aerial Photography By Alex Maclean
Golf Oasis in Desert Hills, Las Vegas, NV 2009. Copyright © Alex MacLean,  Beetles+Huxley
Golf Oasis in Desert Hills, Las Vegas, NV 2009. Copyright © Alex MacLean, Beetles+Huxley
Bathers In Wave Pool, Orlando, FL 1999. Copyright © Alex MacLean,  Beetles+Huxley
Bathers In Wave Pool, Orlando, FL 1999. Copyright © Alex MacLean, Beetles+Huxley
Copyright © Alex MacLean,  Beetles+Huxley
Copyright © Alex MacLean, Beetles+Huxley
Marked Territory, Viareggio, Italy 2010 Copyright © Alex MacLean,  Beetles+Huxley
Marked Territory, Viareggio, Italy 2010 Copyright © Alex MacLean, Beetles+Huxley
SHIPPING CONTAINERS, PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, USA, 2011 Copyright © Alex MacLean,  Beetles+Huxley
SHIPPING CONTAINERS, PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, USA, 2011 Copyright © Alex MacLean, Beetles+Huxley
Ocean City Amusment Park, Ocean City, MD 2011. Copyright © Alex MacLean,  Beetles+Huxley
Ocean City Amusment Park, Ocean City, MD 2011. Copyright © Alex MacLean, Beetles+Huxley

Alex Maclean takes large scale photographs of both the everyday and the unique from a plane, providing a different perspective that often feels surreal. From such a great height a water park looks like a child's playset and colourful shipping containers could be mistaken for blocks of Lego.

Maclean also captures the often bizarre parts of the US, such as a verdant golf course in the desert hills outside of Las Vegas and the haunting 'boneyard' of decommissioned and rusting B-52 bombers. He also highlights the vastness of the agricultural industry and the negative environmental impacts of mining – pit mine tailings almost look beautiful from a distance thus mirroring the unsettling dichotomy that Daniel Beltra captured with his images of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

What the artist captures best is the industrial background of the US with the endless streams of train cars loaded full of coal or the logjam of stored freight train carriages where a rusting segment stands out from its whiter companions.

Rather than making any socio-political statements, this set of over 40 works shows us the great depth of Maclean's portfolio. The sheer diversity of the images prevents it from ever feeling stale or repetitive, making for a captivating and impressive exhibition.

Alex Maclean: Aerial Perspectives is on at Beetles + Huxley, 3-5 Swallow Street, W1B 4DE until 29 March. Entrance is free.

Last Updated 07 March 2014