Nutation - 2008

‘Sea is mystery, a vast area of unexplored, uncharted territory, a place seemingly unaltered through time where the true nature of our planet is exposed’.

Whilst the landscape that surrounds us goes through a seemingly never-ending metamorphosis, the minimal vision of the sea sky horizon remains relatively unaltered. A view that could be shared with our primordial ancestors. This perhaps goes some way to explain our obsession with this calming vista. Its simple meditative beauty inspires reflection upon the concepts of time and space. 

Alongside these themes, the ‘Nutation’ series also examines the act of image making itself and the somewhat paradoxical relationship between real and pictorial space. The viewer is confronted by an image that at first glance seems profoundly dimensional whilst being simultaneously drawn to the flat photographic surface. The metallic sea retreats into 'the void’ as the textured pattern of the waves appear to be little more than brushstrokes upon the picture plane .

As Above So Below (Luna) - 2009 - Present

‘That which is above is the same as that which is below.....Macrocosmos is the same as microcosmos. the universe is the same as human, human is the same as the cell, the cell is the same as... and so on, ad infinitum'.

The influence celestial bodies particularly the Moon have on our oceans is well established. In ‘As Above So Below’ this relationship is explored. What is familiar becomes less recognisable. Frozen in a fraction of a second, unseen by the human eye, these explosive swirling abstract forms seem to echo the cosmos, rejecting their earthly origin. An image more reminiscent of scientific studies of a distant galaxies than a breaking wave or turbulent churning waterfall. Each taking its name from a known moon of the solar system. ‘As Above So Below II’ further explores these themes but on calmer seas. Creating unseen, otherworldly landscapes, before gravity brings us back down to earth towards a more familiar perception of space and time, that of the photograph.

A Memory Of Place - 2016

‘A Memory of Place’ is a personal exploration into memory and place. There is nowhere on earth that can inspire such strong emotional response and connection than the places of our childhood. The locations where we first experienced the majesty and mystery of the world. In 2016 the family home where my parents lived for almost 60 years was sold. I had always found returning there as an adult to be a very calming and grounding experience, particularly wandering around the garden where I’d spent so much of my early childhood. For me this unassuming small plot of land has over time become a sacred spot with almost spiritual significance. This may sound a little over sentimental but the places where we first encounter our environment will obviously inspire rich memories. True adventures in a finite universe, where imagination ran riot. Although in the last few years it may have experienced some neglect - this tangled overgrown world still retained its magic. I returned for one final visit, compelled to preserve some of this magic and mystery within a series of photographs. I chose to shoot after dark when as a child, the garden had an unforgiving, ominous and eerie presence. The tangled overgrown trees and bushes sublty lit held renewed, heighten significance. The images perhaps serving as a personal memorial, that could somehow preserve these distant memories, that now lay in the shadows.

Degrees Of Stillness - 2018

The photograph by its very nature, involves abstraction, or the reduction of human vision to two-dimensions. The images from ‘Degrees of stillness’ explore the paradoxical relationship between real and pictorial space. Fluid shapes seem to solidify on the picture plane masking their true origin and depth. The images chosen by a number of aesthetic criteria rather than an ability to represent reality.

‘Degrees of stillness’ also examines the tangibility of time within the photograph. Whether observing the rapid torrent of a waterfall or the imperceptible movement of glacial ice. The photograph records stillness. A ‘fleeting permanence’. Frozen in a fraction of a second, unseen by the human eye.

‘My aim is to explore the tangibility of light, space and even time within the photograph’

Above Us Only Sky - 2020

Sea is Mystery - 2018 - 2020

‘Sea is Mystery’ further explores the tangibility of time and space within the photograph. Sculptural elements display apparent permanence against the motion of the sea. Of course both are in perpetual motion - rocks, groynes and wooden posts shift and erode over time. The sea hides and reveals it secrets, an unseen landscape, history juxtaposed against the seemingly unchanging image of the sea sky horizon. The sculptural forms seem to fluctuate, at times producing an image for depth, at times, against the flatness of the sea, they appear to drift towards the image surface, forming little more than abstract shapes on the picture plane.

Precession - 2000 - 2007

Negative Surface - 2005

In ‘Negative Surface’ the land, although central to the image appears as a dark detailless void. A challenge to the traditional aesthetics of landscape photography, this seemingly impenetrable yet infinitely deep shape displays an apparent permanence against the motion of water and sky. The viewer is left disoriented, with no reference for distance or depth, perhaps encouraged to contemplate the notion of 'the sublime’ or what has the power to compel and overwhelm us.