Explosions, Fires, and Public Order

Sarah Pickering's "Explosions, Fires, and Public Order" documents four interconnected photographic series exploring the secretive spaces where civil defense and emergency preparedness training takes place.

The work begins with "Public Order," which examines the Metropolitan Police Public Order Training Centre near London, a simulated urban environment where officers rehearse responses to scenarios of civic unrest. This series reveals the carefully constructed infrastructure designed to prepare specialist officers for terrorism threats and civil disturbances.

The "Explosions" series captures controlled military detonations used to add realistic stress to training exercises, some created by pyrotechnic manufacturers who also work on James Bond films. Pickering's "Fire Series" and "Incident" were produced during her artist-in-residence at the UK Fire Training College, where she photographed both active training fires set inside meticulously constructed home interiors and the stark, charred remnants after blazes were extinguished.