DOMI, DEMO, De NOVO

Domi is for domicology: the study of the life cycle of buildings; Demo is for demolition; De Novo is for starting afresh.

Domi, Demo, De Novo, is a small exhibition, and zine, featuring photos of demolitions in Kilmarnock from September 2024 till September 2025; specifically it features the dismantling of the multi storey at Foregate Square.

Fraser Kerr has taken photos of the area around the 1970s car park since 2022 and was especially interested in the light at the Foregate shops which is now changed forever. In September 2024, when the contractors arrived, he started recording the demolition in more detail documenting key moments of the work such as the removal of the clock and Jack Faulds Sloan’s horse sculpture (the Quadriga).

Also documented are the people of Kilmarnock, before, during and after the demolition some of whom will have remembered the building of the car park in the 70s and now, 50 years later, are witnesses to its demolition.

Fraser started as a street photographer after being inspired by Bill Cunningham, in 2020. He attended a workshop by the photographer and painter Mark Fearnley in London. As such, some of the photos featured are in the “street” tradition, i.e are spontaneous, unrepeatable captures, of people. In this case, people, navigating the town, amidst its changing light, architecture and fortune.

The site is now a tabula resa meaning that what comes next is open for debate and you should have your say as to its fate