Media Release
October 30 2008
New book closes gap on bridges
From
vast imposing spans that cross harbours and seas to humble country creek
crossings, the bridge is undeniably one of modern history’s greatest
engineering achievements.
In his new book, Bridge, UniSA’s Associate Professor in Communication and Cultural Studies Peter Bishop examines the many bridges of the world and explores their inextricable link to our everyday lives and culture.
“Bridges are much more than a functional, physical structure - they have boundless civic, military, architectural, artistic and social significance,” Prof Bishop says.
“They can be platforms for reverie, or for surveillance, targets in wartime or sites of spectacular fireworks displays in times of celebration, like the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“Writers weave plots around bridges and television and cinema scripts have given world wide visibility to others – The Bridge on the River Kwai, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge or the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
“Bridges can link islands, countries and cultures, like the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong connecting Lan Tau Island to the mainland both socially and geographically.
“They can also invoke both division and healing, as with the Mostar Bridge destroyed during the Bosnian war, or the way Australia’s reconciliation walk took place over Sydney Harbour.”
Bishop says the cultural significance of bridges also extends to the engineering practices applied to create them and even the many small and inconspicuous bridges essential to communication and transportation networks around the globe.
“The design practices, creative development and use of new materials tell us much about the bridge’s history and reflect on the culture at the time.
“Bridges are also part of local folklore and storytelling.
“A great example is South Australia’s Hindmarsh Island Bridge, which gained national notoriety when building approval was challenged by the Indigenous community.
“There is also the underside of city bridges that shelters the homeless and often provides a canvas for street artistry, while others are part of a strategy to renew areas like the Millennium Bridge in England.
“Ultimately each bridge can play a large part in narratives, imagination and symbolism for people from all walks of life.”
Bridge is part of the Objeckt series commissioned by Reaktion Books that looks at things that shape modernity and includes other works on factories, aircraft, motorcycles, dams and schools.
Bridge is available in Australia from Footprint Books for $49.95.
Contacts for interview
- Prof Peter Bishop office (08) 8302 4623 mobile 0412 845 155 email peter.bishop@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
-
Linda Hein office (08) 8302 0965 mobile 0411 257 029
email linda.hein@unisa.edu.au