Photography · January 4, 2022

The Curious Allure of Petrol Stations

I like a lot of weird things but ‘oof look at that petrol station’ probably gets the biggest laugh-snort from my other half. There’s just something about them.

When I was younger, I liked the idea of the 24-hour petrol station down the road. Someone was always there, watching over the world while I slept. As lights went out, the reassuring blue and red glow from the Mobil would continue to be a beacon of reassurance. Later, it was one of the first places my best-friend-neighbour and I were allowed to go on our own. Holding a handful of change from his mam or my gran, we’d spend ages making careful selections of a drink and a snack to bring back home, proof of our independence. ‘The Garage’ as I called it, was a meeting place for friends coming together from different directions, to walk to school. It was a signpost on the bus to tell me I was nearly home.

These days I just enjoy their aesthetic. They are little frontiers that can look like an apocalyptic refuge given the right weather. Different brands try to assert their supremacy with a variety of bright neon colours that scream out in the night. Curious additions come and go: a giant Costa coffee cup, a variety of car wash types, a laundrette…

People come and go too of course and that’s another joy of petrol stations; the transience. Watch one for just five minutes and the scene is unlikely to stay the same. The man who meticulously puts on the plastic gloves before he touches the pump, the kids who are nagging for sweets when their parent pops in to pay, the bored and tired attendant straightening the newspapers in a rare, quiet moment. The stories petrol stations could tell.

Petrol stations at night, though. That’s the magic for me. A wet, hazy night and the bright colours take on new life, and, I won’t lie, look a little Blade-Runner-Dystopian too, which is part of their appeal. For years when we’ve driven past a variety of petrol stations at night, I’ve been saying I must bring my camera and get some images, so I figured it was time to stop talking about it and actually do it.