December 2024

Just 10 days left in 2024. It’s been a dramatic and frequently challenging year personally but a good year for work, and creative opportunities. Finally, after many years I was able to exhibit work from Disrupted Landscapes in public. Two wonderful exhibitions - one at Four Corners with Colin Pantall and Dawn Rodgers, and one for Photo Fringe with Pippa Healy. A great experience. And my video, Vanishing, has had a really good year in the UK and overseas which has been exciting.

Heading into the unknown in 2025. Hoping that I’ll create some new work, take creative risks, and continue to be inspired by landscape, politics and art.

As always, hoping for a calmer year for everyone, more compassion, less cruelty, more peace in this world.

November 2024

In late October I received the news that my short video, Vanishing, was an Official Selection for the Earth in Focus Singapore Nature Film Award. The award was separate to the film festival screenings though a part of its programme. The festival had received more than 1000 film submissions from 95 countries, so I was very happy to have the film acknowledged in this way.

Also, at the end of October, I returned to the Kent coast with my camera. I spent a long time documenting the chalk cliffs near Dover and seeing how the geology had changed since my last visit. I have begun to use some of the documentary photographs from this trip to create new work for Disrupted Landscapes. I’ve also started writing again, although I’m not yet sure what form this work might take.

October 2024

This place is not a passive landscape, the exhibition by Pippa Healy and myself for Photo Fringe, took place at The Regency Town House 4 - 13 October. On 5 October we had an artist’s talk led by artist and lecturer Zoe Childerley followed by a private view. It was great to see so many people at the talk who had come to see our exhibition and the photography exhibition on the ground floor by Richard Boll.

The festival launch the night before at Phoenix Arts Space had been packed with photography exhibitors and their friends and it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces. I had really enjoyed the Symbiosis III curated by Hayley Harrison, Melanie King and Ky Lewis, as well as the university exhibition What Lies Beneath by Zoe Childerley and Holly Birtles, and Martin Seeds exhibition, Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on.

Our own exhibition was well attended the second week and we had a Zines Special on the 12 October. I enjoyed many conversations with people each time I was there and felt there was really good engagement with our work. The show had been in development since late April, and although seven of my eleven prints had been shown at Four Corners in March, the layout of the room and its ambience meant a complete rethink for the installation. Four of the works were newly produced including the two larger prints on aluminium displayed centrally above the fireplace.

Visitors to the exhibition, The place is not a passive landscape

My video, Vanishing, is currently part of an exhibition in The Hague. Curated by 0-1 gallery, the exhibition, MACHINE ECHOES, is at See Lab, The Hague from 19-26 October. Featuring nine artists, the exhibition explores the evolving connection between nature and technology, navigating into AI, the transformation of communication, and the future of ecological awareness. There are links to each artist’s work on 0-1 gallery’s website, including a short trailer I made for Vanishing. I am excited and grateful to be included in this show with these other artists.

From Vanishing, 2023

August 2024

In August I finally got to visit the Isles of Scilly, somewhere that I had been curious to visit for a long time. Travelling with my friend, Lulu, we stayed on St Mary’s and took ferries to Tresco and St Martin’s. It was only for a few days but we were incredibly lucky with the weather and the scenery was as spectacular as I had imagined.

Vanishing, 2023

In early August my film, Vanishing, was made an Official Selection for the NATURE & CULTURE: International Poetry Film Festival which focuses on the poetics of nature and environment, and takes place annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. This 4th edition of the festival will take place in October.

Vanishing will also be screened in The Hague, in October.

Recent work with Disrupted Landscapes

Throughout August I was also making new work for Disrupted Landscapes which involves positive and negative geologies and drawing on the image. I started making work this way in late 2023 but the scale was much smaller. This month I was aiming for larger-scale photographs that would be mounted on aluminium. I am planning to exhibit one of the recent photographs in October.

July 2024

Collective 22’s third exhibition, Shared Grounds, was at London Gallery West, University of Westminster from 12 - 20 July. Thirteen members of the collective took part in this show, which follows earlier exhibitions in 2022 at Brighton Photo Fringe and in Derby for the completion of our East Meets West masterclass. Shared Grounds was a dynamic looking exhibition, and London Gallery West was a wonderful space to install our work. I was happy that I could try out a couple of new Disrupted Landscapes pieces in this show.

South coast

After a very long absence I was finally able to get down to the coast and take photographs on the beach. My injury in January had meant I couldn’t take the risk, and I still felt cautious walking over the rocks and shingle. It felt great to be back by the sea at last and make up for lost time, and I’ve already been working up different ideas from these new images.

Also this month, I’ve been working on an installation layout for my work in a two-person show this autumn. Some of the images that I exhibited at Four Corners in March will be included but the room layout means that a few new pieces will be included too. Looking forward to it!

June 2024

The Earth Photo 2024 exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society opened on 18 June and will run until 21 August.

This is the first time that my video, Vanishing, has been shown in London, and I’m delighted that my quirky, idiosyncratic film about the climate crisis is included among such wonderful international photography and video. Congratulations to all the other exhibitors!

Earth Photo will travel to other locations including six Forestry England forests and to National Trust properties and the Sidney Nolan Trust and the Heligan Gardens.

Taken at Earth Photo 2024 exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society, London

Vanishing has also been selected for ESC 2034: Machine Echoes - the first of 3 shows organised by 0-1 gallery in The Hague exploring nature and technology under the narrative ‘A decade into the future.’
The show this autumn in the Netherlands will include work by artists Ana Esteve Reig, Andrea Martinucci, Chloé Azzopardi, Domas Anne van Wijk, Eva Anerrapsi, Jakub Geltner, Joanna Grochowska, Lorenzo Zerbini, and Sarah Butler. I’m excited to be a part of it!

May 2024

In early May the shortlist for Earth Photo 2024 was announced and I’m delighted to have my video, Vanishing included. 31 photographers and 13 filmmakers from around the world have made the shortlist. The exhibition will be at the Royal Geographical Society from 18 June to 21 August and travel to six Forestry England Forests from 1 July 2024 to 23 March 2025 and to National Trust properties across the UK, plus the Sidney Nolan Trust and the Heligan Gardens. I’m really excited to see the exhibition next month.

Photofusion’s Salon/24 exhibition private view

May is Photo Month in London and in early May Photofusion opened their new space in Brixton with their members’ exhibition, Salon/24, curated by their recent Director, Kim Shaw. I have one of my small Chalk Shadow pieces in the show. The opening was full of familiar faces - a celebration of the photography community in London.

Photo London

Despite having a sprained ankle I made it to Photo London and Peckham 24 this month but kept walking around to a minimum. The enjoyment is catching up with other photographers who you may not have seen for a while, seeing work that is inspiring and resonates, and at Photo London being introduced to galleries in Europe that are supporting interesting work. The book fair in Peckham 24 was a great addition with plenty of wonderful publications.

April 2024

This month I was featured on A Photographic Life on The United Nations of Photography podcast, talking about what photography means to me (in just 5 minutes). I spoke about moving image vs photography and went back in time to talk about some very early work.

Dr Grant Scott founded the United Nations of Photography in 2012. He’s featured some really interesting photographers on his podcast over the years which you can scroll through and listen to - all with their personal view on photography. I’m grateful to have been invited to contribute.

Artists Responding To … Issue 10

In early April I heard that a series of still images from my video, Vanishing, are being featured in the Spring issue of Artists Responding To Magazine. The Quarterly Magazine, started by Polly Bates in 2020, features international artist-led projects responding to environmental, political and social issues, as well as UK exhibition highlights and reviews.

I’ve also received some additional good news about Vanishing, which hopefully I can share next month.

Vanishing - Hastings Film Festival

In mid-April I went to the Hastings Rocks International Film Festival where my short, experimental film, Vanishing was part of the Experimental Cinema Official Selection. I was very happy to be included in the programme as I had enjoyed being a part of the 2023 Festival with my short film, Chalk. I thought all of the films in the Experimental Screening at Hypha Studios were interesting and especially enjoyed Trish Morrissey’s film Eupnea which deservedly won the award for Best Experimental Film, and Picturing Wonderland by Alfie Elms.

March 2024 - part two

I launched my new zine, Chalk, at our Disrupted Landscapes exhibition at Four Corners in mid-March. The zine is in an edition of 100, and is also available to purchase from this website. I really enjoyed working to an A4 format this time, and being able to include images from the coast that have been a part of recent photography and video projects. Chalk also includes two essays on my Disrupted Landscapes work from writers Diane Smyth and Jane Madsen.

Vanishing, 2024

This month has also brought some good news for my short film, Vanishing. In mid-March it was an award winner in the Best Documentary Director in the Short Movies category at the 2024 Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Madrid (FICIMAD). There is a thoughtful description of the film in their awards catalogue which describes is as a “timely warning about the fragility of the planet” and a “transgressive, moving and necessary film”.

Vanishing has also been awarded Official Selection at the Hastings Rocks International Film Festival 2024 and will be screened in their experimental programme.

Vanishing was a difficult film to make and at times I wondered if I would even be able to finish it. It's probably a feeling that many people making films recognise. I'm just grateful that I did find a way to complete it and that it's been given these opportunities.

Vanishing, 2024

March 2024

The 3-person exhibition, Disrupted Landscapes, featuring photography and video by Colin Pantall, Dawn Rodgers, and myself, took place at Four Corners 13-16 March. The show was installed on the Tuesday, opened on Wednesday and the private view was Thursday evening. We wanted as many people as possible to see it in this short space of time and we were delighted with the response we received to our exhibition.

Visitors to the exhibition at Four Corners, London

It had been a long time since I had exhibited a body of work in London, as past solo exhibitions took place in Margate, Brighton, and Worthing, Sussex. I had wanted to show my Disrupted Landscapes project for a while as the MA grad show was unable to open due to full lockdown in early 2021. The project has grown since then, and this exhibition featured work from 2020 - 2024. Four Corners with its long history of showing activist photography was the perfect place for this work.

British Journal of Photography Virtual Reality issue, March 2024

My project Disrupted Landscapes was given a wonderful boost by being included in the March issue of the British Journal of Photography. Late last year I was interviewed by Philippa Kelly for the magazine’s March issue focusing on Virtual Reality. This section looked at how photographers use form to make a statement, and featured five photographers commenting on the land. I am delighted to be a part of this inspiring issue, and am grateful to the editor, Diane Smyth, for thinking of my work, and also for visiting the exhibition.

January 2024

At the end of last year I was lucky enough to spend some time in Marrakech, my third visit to Morocco having previously visited Tangier twice. It was a lovely break and we stayed within the medina with its wonderful scents, sights and sounds enveloping us.

Marrakech, December 2023

Since the start of the year I’ve been preparing for a three-person exhibition with Colin Pantall and Dawn Rodgers. I’ve been printing up some recent work in preparation, running tests and having work framed. Not long to go - more info next month.

I’ve also been experimenting with some new Disrupted Landscapes work. The images evolve but the motivation is the same. Not abstract for aesthetic purposes, but trying to find a meaning in this conflicted and broken country.

December 2023

Looking back on 2023 - a year of personal challenges and global heartache. Hard to consider 2023 in a positive light but nontheless I am very grateful for the art opportunities that came my way during the year, some of which are pictured above.

In 2024 I look forward to showing some of my Disrupted Landscapes work in London and producing a new zine, Chalk.

Hoping for a calmer year, more compassion, less cruelty, more peace in this world.

November 2023

It’s been a good month for my new video, Vanishing. The film was screened at the CMR Project Space in Redruth as an Official Selection of the Cornwall Film Festival. It was programmed within their Experimental Film Weekender.

Vanishing has also made the Official Selection for the Festival CinemaZERO 2023 “Visions Beyond the Anthropocene” MUSE award competition which means that it will be screened with seven other shortlisted films in Trento, Italy on 3 December. Festival CinemaZERO has been running 16 years and I love how it is dedicated to films that have ‘a different attitude, adventurous or poetic, DIY or punk, anarchic or self-sufficient; that speak with a personal, intimate, courageous and autonomous voice’.

Finally, Vanishing has also been longlisted for the Zealous Amplify creative competition on the theme of Environment. There are 50 creative projects on this longlist - photography, video and different media. I look forward to finding out more about the projects during the competition.

When I finished the short video at the end of August my main emotion was relief! It had been a long and challenging project for me for different reasons but was completed with Juliet’s reading of the voiceover. I’m so pleased it has been given these opportunities.

Opening night of the London Group Open 2023 at Copeland Gallery

The London Group Open exhibition previewed on 9 November and there was a huge turn-out at Copeland Gallery. There were 158 artworks from member and selected non-member exhibitors and a strong selection of video and sculptural installations. My video, Chalk, was projected as part of a four-video loop and I really enjoyed the other videos in that selection, one of which received a prize. I invigilated one afternoon, which was a great opportunity to see the work when it was less busy - although there were people arriving throughout - and it was a chance to talk to other exhibitors and members of the London Group. The exhibition ran from 10 - 26 November.

Chalk video projected at the Copeland Gallery, Peckham

October 2023

At the end of September I found out that my Chalk video had been selected for The London Group Open 2023 exhibition at Copeland Gallery. I had exhibited with the London Group before in their 2017 Open and enjoyed the experience. The fact this year’s exhibition is being held at the Copeland Gallery in Peckham is a bonus as it’s such a special place. I’m excited to see the works on display when it opens next month.

Leave to Remain: A Snapshot of Brexit

In mid-October at the London School of Economics, there was a talk and book launch for Leave to Remain: A Snapshot of Brexit, written by Noni Stacey and published by Lund Humphries. I went along and really enjoyed the evening and Noni’s conversation with LSE Professor Tony Travers. There were so many questions from the audience which showed how interested people are in the fall-out from Brexit and the ways in which artists have been responding to it. A few of the other contributors were present and it was lovely to finally meet in person.

Vanishing, 2023

October has been a good month for my new video, Vanishing. It is an Official Selection for the Cornwall Film Festival 2023 in the category, Experimental Film - Artist Moving Image and the festival takes place in November. I would love to be there as it sounds like a great festival. It’s been running 22 years and has Mike Leigh is its patron. Vanishing is also an Official Selection for the Cannes Continental Film Festival, which is an online festival.

September 2023

From the end of August until 7 September, I was in western Canada for a family visit. It was four years since I had visited and usually the journey involves a long drive south from Alberta into British Columbia. Canada has been experiencing a record number of forest fires this year, and on the drive between provinces many newly devastated areas of burned forests lined the highway. 3 days ago the Canadian National Wildland Fire Report stated there were 229 uncontrolled fires, 95 fires being held and 163 fires under control.

Noni Stacey’s new book, Leave to Remain: A Snapshot of Brexit, was published by Lund Humphries on 7 September. It explores art and activism as well as insights into English society, national identity, migration, colonialism, racism, austerity, and the border in Northern Ireland and Scotland. So pleased to be a part of this timely publication. There is a launch at Photo Museum Ireland on 29 September and one at LSE, London on 19 October.

July/August 2023

A quick post as two months have nearly gone past since the last one. It’s been extremely busy.

In July and August I was out on a couple of shoots to complete the short video and I’m happy to say that it is now completed. It’s the third consecutive video to have been filmed on the Kent coast - I always anticipated making three films there. I may put it online for a short while, I do hope to send it out to some festivals.

In July the Royal Photographic Society announced its shortlisted photographers for the International Photography Exhibition 165 and I was very happy to be included in the list. I have printed up three photographs from the Tangents series and sent them on to the RPS - the final exhibitors are announced in October.

Part of Photo Fringe’s OPEN Eco display on Worthing seafront.

In mid-August there was a get-together on Worthing seafront for the OPEN Eco display, a part of Brighton Photo Fringe. Some of the exhibitors met up with members of Photo Fringe to talk and be interviewed. It was a fun afternoon. The work - which was installed last October - will be in place until this October. The outdoor prints, produced by Metro Imaging, looked incredible after being infront of the sea for almost a year.

Some book related news as well this month. One of my photographs from Disrupted Landscapes has been used for the cover of a Norwegian poetry book ’Overgang til menneske’ by Gunstein Bakke. In English it means Transition to human - a great title.

And announcements have been made for the upcoming launch of Leave to Remain A Snapshot of Brexit - a book by Noni Stacey, published by Lund Humphries. The book explores the role of art, photography, activism and satire in disseminating the debates around Britain leaving the European Union... with striking illustrations by artists, photographers and activists including Cornelia Parker, Wolfgang Tillmans, David Shrigley, Tacita Dean and Jeremy Deller, Cold War Steve and Led By Donkeys. I’m delighted to be included in this important and timely book with some of my photographs and an interview.

May/June 2023

May is Photo Month in London and it was great to spend time at Photo London and Peckham 24. There was some really impressive and inspiring work from artists I hadn’t previously known - Sam Burford at Fiumano Clase, and Kacper Kowalski at Atlas Gallery, (part of Photo London), and Jon Henry and Brea Souders at Peckham 24. There were performances and talks in Peckham as well, plus the whole week is very social.

And I have been back at the coast with visits to Kent and Sussex. I’m shooting video and stills but the main focus is really video. As well as my regular camera, I was working with a second one which is waterproof, but the sea was quite rough. I’ll try it again on a calmer day.

Chalk video

Finally, I was happy to hear that my short video, Chalk, was an Official Selection for the Lulea International Film Festival in Sweden. It’s a monthly selection, so it may go no further, but I’m still pleased it has got to this stage.

April 2023

Last month I was excited to find out that my short film, Chalk, had made the Official Selection for the Hastings Rocks International Film Festival, 14-15 April 2023.

I went down to the screening on Friday evening to see it included in a programme of short films that had a connection to Sussex (in Chalk, some of the footage is shot at Seven Sisters in East Sussex). It was wonderful to see such a packed venue for these early evening films and to see Chalk on such a big screen, with fantastic sound. There were some very strong films - a stop motion film called Salvation Has No Name by Joseph Wallace really stood out, and I enjoyed Just Add Water: Stories from the Sea by Kristian Coburn. I went down again on the Saturday and enjoyed more films, especially Ortolan - Bones and All by Director Tracy Mathewson and Writer Kate Winter. Additionally, the team running the festival - Dr James, Sara and Archie - were so welcoming, it was a lovely experience.

It has really been the month for film, as Chalk was also part of the Official Selection for the Fisheye Film Festival which took place in High Wycombe on 22 April 2023. I had never been there before, and was happy to visit and see Chalk screened as part of a lunchtime programme of films. All of the filmmakers were invited to speak and answer questions about their films which was very interesting. I particularly liked Order 27 which was written and directed by Thomas Wheeler, and Head Boy, which was written and directed by Lee Campbell. All the films were included in a printed brochure which was a lovely souvenir of the day.

Millennium Images catalogue 2023

This month I was very happy to be included in the newly published Millennium Images catalogue, entitled Universal Happiness, Peace and Prosperity. The image is one of a series that I shot up at Sizewell Nuclear Power Station - it was strange seeing so many people relaxing, reading and picnicking in this landscape.

Kent coast, April 2023

Early this month I managed to arrange one filming trip to the coast, where I visited a few different locations and then met up with a friend to see two exhibitions at the Turner Contemporary.

Later in the month I got some useful feedback on my script - which was timely. I’m still writing and refining, but am not giving myself pressure to complete anything by June. Hopefully, once my camera issues are sorted I can travel back to the coast and film.

I’m also working on Disrupted Landscapes and taking the work into a different graphic style. I haven’t printed any of these new images yet, and that has to be the next step, to see how they look off the screen.

March 2023

February rushed by, but it was a really nice surprise to find out early in the month that I was shortlisted for AIS Women Behind The Lens: Place & Space for five photographs from my series Disrupted Landscapes. 20 women photographers were shortlisted from submissions across 52 countries by an international jury.

Coastal photo shoot, February 2023

I had two days shooting on the coast during February which enabled me to make some progress on the video. I have also been fine-tuning the narration and making edits in Premiere - aiming for it to be completed by June.

From Chalk video

In early March I found out that my short video, Chalk, made the official selection for the Fisheye Film Festival which takes place in High Wycombe in April. The festival has been running seven years and screens international films - I’m very happy that Chalk will be a part of the experimental film programme.

January 2023

I spent the day in Bristol seeing the Photography Open and Jem Southam exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol. The show, which was selected by Jem Southam, Amak Mahmoodian, Sian Bonnell, Susan Derges RWA and Judith Jones RWA, along with Tracy Marshall, Deputy Director at Centre for British Photography, features 150 artists. I’m happy to be showing new work there and the exhibition is on until 1 May, so plenty of time for people to visit.

Coastal shoot

January seems to have gone very quickly. I only travelled down to the coast once this month because of the very cold weather and having other commitments. I’m still adjusting my video script and storyboard but have started to lay visuals in Premiere. I’ll plan a block of time by the sea once the conditions are more favourable.

Disrupted Landscapes zine

I was happy to find out that I’d sold most of the Disrupted Landscapes zines I’d left at the Royal Photographic Society in Bristol. They had been part of our Photo Book Club Collective display in the foyer of the RPS last October. I have been invited to send more copies which is great news.