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A large, cylindrical concrete water tower stands on thick pillars above a grassy field. A metal palisade fence runs across the foreground under a cloudy sky.

Jamie Young's stunning photographs document the water towers of Ireland

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Date
12 September 2012

Photography is brilliant at making you stop and appreciate the beauty of everyday things that otherwise can just pass you by. I must have walked by hundreds of lone water-towers in my time but never have I properly stopped and taken a moment to appreciate the concrete fineness of these overbearing structures. I doubt I’m alone in this either, after all the words “water-towers” and “beauty” are probably not something you’d put together, let alone a subject likely to just crop up over the lunch table.

But that all changes once you’ve feasted your eyes on the photographs of the ever-so-talented Jamie Young in which he beautifully documents water towers standing tall across Ireland’s rolling countryside.

Inspired by German artists Bernd and Hilla Becha who dedicated years to photographing industrial structures, Jamie – through his photographs – makes the seemingly impossible possible giving emotive, personable characters to these objects and shining a entirely new light on these huge structures. Who knew?

A concrete water tower with a wide, funnel-shaped top rises above a gated compound. A clear blue sky with scattered white clouds fills the background.
Above

Jamie Young: Water Towers of Ireland

A tall water tower with a wide, cylindrical top stands in a grassy field. The structure is painted in alternating wide bands of red and white.
Above

Jamie Young: Water Towers of Ireland

A concrete water tower stands tall against a pale, overcast sky. Thick green ivy climbs up several of its supporting pillars, partially obscuring them.
Above

Jamie Young: Water Towers of Ireland

A tall, white concrete tower stands in a rural landscape under a cloudy sky. The structure features a wider, octagonal top section and narrow vertical windows.
Above

Jamie Young: Water Towers of Ireland

A tall, concrete utility tower stands against a cloudy sky. A blue plastic barrel sits on the ground beside the structure, with green trees and a distant landscape in the background.
Above

Jamie Young: Water Towers of Ireland

A concrete water tower stands in a rural landscape under a cloudy sky. The cylindrical tank is supported by a weathered, open-frame structure, surrounded by green hedges and rolling hills.
Above

Jamie Young: Water Towers of Ireland

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About the Author

Anya Lawrence

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