Lizzy created the photo essay I’m not dead I’m in Margate for the now-defunct website Pearrls.
"I moved to Margate two years ago and it is fair to say that it has changed quite a lot in that time. There is no doubt that cultural regeneration is working here, in fact it is such a no brainer that the phrase "cultural regeneration" is rather old hat, we are all sick of talking about it. What is so exciting about living here is that it is a place in transition. Rather like the wild west, if you have the drive and the imagination anything is possible, rent is cheap and there is an abundance of enthusiasm for anyone that wants to start something with a good heart.
"There have been many articles talking about the many shops, cafes and art galleries that have opened in the last few years. Surprisingly, for such a small town there is a real variety of things to do: you can get an amazing pizza, slice of homemade cake or a perfect fry up, go bowling in a retro bowling alley, see a Shell Grotto (the 7th wonder of the world) or see some contemporary art in any of the number of smaller art organisations, Limbo, Crate or the Pie Factory or the international art gallery Turner Contemporary. You can also buy an unbelievable amount of junk. I am not going to repeat all this good advice, it's out there.
"The town is a strange juxtaposition of the historical, the jolly seaside cliché and desolation. Margate has gone through many image changes throughout the three hundred years it has been a holiday destination, each wave building on the old, creating an interesting meld of architecture and history. Margate went from a fishing village to a fancy holiday destination for the rich in the early 1700s. A few years later however, the rich began to leave disgusted by the hoards Londoners travelling to Margate by boat intent on drinking and having a jolly old time. Since then Margate has been many different things, the site of vibrant theme park, a place of healing for the sick, the territory of teenage revolutionaries, and recently famous for being a "dumping ground" for those on welfare benefits. Many relics of the heydays litter the town, most notably Dreamland, which you can see from the Arlington House car park. The old Lido which has been filled in with concrete is also beautiful in its dereliction, now only good for fishing or flying a kite on a windy day.
"Northdown Road in next door Cliftonville is at first glance a string of baffling general shops and empty buildings, but is in actually fact a shopping Mecca. Behind the messy pavements lies caverns of exotic food, pets and furniture. Anything and everything you could ever want can be found on that road from vacuum cleaners and second hand golf clubs to wetsuits (actually in the same shop).
"Also there is the sea. Many artists have used the sea as an inspiration. Video artist John Smith filmed the sea around Margate over several months for his 2012 work "Horizon". Smith’s work not only captures the changing light and weather but he manages to describe the life of the beach front. The work has funny and poignant moments that contrast with the sublimity of the waves. Swimming in the sea is one of my favourite things. I love the buoyancy of the salt water and I like seeing the endless horizon. I was swimming in the sea in Margate a few weeks ago and I swam past an empty packet of pork scratchings. I think this probably says it all and nothing."
