Road markings

My obsession with photographing "marks on roads" started with marks on the pavement, especially when the marked slabs had been taken up and then put back in a different position. For the workers, the aim was to put any slab anywhere - and this random act made an unseen, taken-for-granted surface suddenly visible. It made you think about what might be underneath the pavement ... something needing repair ... and the fragility of the entire infrastructure that we depend on when we live in a city.

There are codes for marks on roads - the broad white stripes of the crosswalk, the "no stopping in the yellow box" areas, long lines and short lines used for lane separation (why is there a difference?), the blue surface of the central London bike routes. The pink in the photo is unusual - I think it indicates pedestrian traffic - the photo was taken at the NEC - the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, where Festival of Quilts takes place in August.