LIGHT BECOMES SILENCE

A solo exhibition of 25 images which was part of Glasgow International 2016. The photographs are part of a larger body of research which uses the analogue medium in response to landscape. Landscape has a long history within the photographic medium but it is an area which has been so dominated and defined by the male perspective? Why do so few women make work in and of the land and why do we know so little of those that do? Some of these on-going questions feed into my broader area of interest. Through my work I question the cultural meaning of landscape in order to understand and confront interests, ambitions and intentions, which lie beyond the formally aesthetic or personally expressive. I am interested in responding to and reflecting on the arbitrary tracks left by nature for us to contemplate. It is often in and through the irregularities, imperfections and random flaws, that discoveries can be made - things can become clear. I have a particular interest in the mnemonic role of trees and also their metaphysical potential to link the underworld, with the earth’s surfaces and skies and the past with the present and future. I am also interested in the circumambient element of air. This invisible, intangible but absolutely essential element holds great challenges for the photographic medium. I work with a range of analogue cameras which include 5x4 pinhole, plastic holga, 35mm etc. The cameras disrupt the conventions of the photographic image – the exposure, the focus, the depth of field, the detail etc. I am not concerned with specifics or detail but rather in working with the language of photography to penetrate surfaces and access something more universal – more essential.