As part of my experiments with compositing topographical features I wanted to explore the possibilities of subverting well known (and possibly well loved) national architectural or natural icons.
Starting with Lady Liberty, surely there can be no better known construction that everyone instantly recognises and whose meaning could be that of great pride, wonder, expectation and hope or an oppressor. Either way most if not everyone knows what the Statue of Liberty is and where it resides. So decided to see if I could relocate it and how that might work aesthetically within the context of my other work in progress. Making these images appear to be as ‘real’ as possible is essential.
So I pursued two potential routes, one where I physically moved the statue to a different continent and another where I created a new route to visit it, as a new way of seeing the statue for the first time rather than approaching it via Ferry crossing the Hudson as is the way it is viewed now.
Ive imagined it being accessed from the Paris Metro system. One of the things I love about Paris is the revelation the exit steps provide, I imagine because Paris is a relatively low rise city in most of its historic districts the city reveals itself easily, whereas in New York you rarely gain much viewing distance unless from the top of a skyscraper or looking out from beyond the metropolis.
My first experiments using the Paris Metro experiment with angle and scale of Liberty. The first aims to deliver the viewer virtually to the plinth base, I imagine a row of escalators delivering tourists right to the location. 
The second hints at the escalators being a little further away, maybe being at the rear of the public space where the statue is located. This feels more in tune with a publicly open space somewhere like Paris or other European city.
Although i enjoyed creating these scenes and will test them out by asking viewers if they know the escalators at the Statue Of Liberty and measuring their responses I’m not sure if it isn’t all a little too obvious.
This third execution where I have relocated Liberty Island to Sweden feels more in tune with the other images in the main In Between places collection as it stands so far. Its a change in tone and weather but I think this adds some authenticity to the images as a set. Whilst I admire Lauren Marsoliers Transitions series I do find they lean to a very clean aesthetic which is fine but I need my places to look and feel real and weather is a big part of that recognition factor.
So the frame on this composition places Liberty Island into the background, the apparent object of interest the bus shelter. Ive allowed the background to soften slightly, I want the viewer to come across the statue as a secondary thing, Ive moved the shelter slightly camera right , the eye should find the shelter straight away, the slope of the hillside leading the eye camera left to the island and statue.
I like the subtlety of this, the dull day and grey sky increases the authenticity of the scene and I think it sits well with the other images in the In Between set.
Its also occurred to me that creating these images, particularly the third, hints at an alternative narrative that could have rolled out had events not proceeeded as planned, as they did. What if the US didnt want the Statue Of Liberty? It was after all a gift from France. What if the ships couldn’t sail, war struck before the statue was shipped and erected. What if it had ended up somewhere in Europe, in a Swedish fjord maybe? What would its cultural significance be without the association of immigration to the USA and renewed lives for which the statue has become synonymous?
It seems that to move the statue strips it of all cultural significance, I wonder how a real American patriot would view liberty in this fictitious situation? Its still the same construction, does its removal from the Hudson alter its perception?
From a practical and viewing perspective the size of final image display may benefit these executions by erring on the large format side of exhibition prints or book format if the theme does evolve to incorporate key elements as subtle background elements. Saying that Its interesting to see that the shape of recognition value of Liberty remains undiminished at the small size published here.