Parasite
Edinburgh
United Kingdom, 2004

The Forth Bridge near Edinburgh, opened in 1890, is one of the best known railway bridges in Europe and is regarded as an icon of industrial engineering. What Hans Wilschut finds compelling in this structure is not only the monumental cantilever construction itself, but also the constant presence of scaffolding, work platforms, and maintenance zones that attach themselves to the bridge like a second skin.

As a result, the bridge does not appear as a completed monument, but as a structure that remains permanently under construction, as if it is never entirely finished. For Wilschut, these temporary additions become a subject in their own right. In their tangle of tubes, nets, and auxiliary lines, he sees something almost parasitic or organic, a kind of mistletoe clinging to the bridge. In this way, the gaze shifts from the heroism of the nineteenth century to the vulnerability and ongoing maintenance required to keep such an icon standing. The photograph therefore focuses not only on the bridge as a technical masterpiece, but also on the fragile, almost uncanny relationship between monument, time, and care.