When we were there: representation and coercion from the architectural photograph to the postcard

This research develops a theory of coercion of the architectural photograph. This is conducted with a focus on a specific, largely underexamined mode of architectural representation: the postcard. It examines the postcard as an idealised representation of architecture that constructs a shared memory and experience of place. Drawing on both the history of photography in architecture and the history of the postcard, as well as my personal archive of architectural photographs and postcards, the research blends discursive analysis and creative practice. As such, the research develops new knowledge by uncovering the coercive power of this form of architectural imagery and interrogates the relationship between reality and representation, image and experience, and archive and memory.