Restricted Area was Angus Boulton’s first solo exhibition in the UK. It presented three films examining the legacy of Soviet abandoned military installations in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc.
In Cood bay Forst Zinna (2001, 19 min), an abandoned installation, surrounded by a concrete perimeter wall, is viewed from the window of a passing train. Adopting an almost forensic photographic style, the film suggest an investigation into the detritus of everyday life, a life spent away from the public eye.
Stolzenhain (2004, 14 min) continues this theme and resembles visual archaeology, one that explores the unusual layout and structures found within a hidden and once heavily guarded site. A series of unfolding vistas and views meditate on the nature of protection, and an overriding need for the occupants to look in one direction, primarily outwards, deep into the surrounding woodland.
The Russian Palette (2006, 11 min) features a series of still images from Boulton’s series titled 41 Gymnasia. The pieces is a study of colour, architectural styles and the art of mural painting across the series of derelict Soviet-era gymnasia in Germany photographed between 1998 and 2006. The images recall an age when the Olympics were embraced as an important opportunity for athletes to represent their countries on the world stage, memories of a time before sport became inextricably linked with finance.