Coming to light

Abstract

The Silent Land documents a Forestry Commission plantation managed for timber and recreational use, which grows on the remains of ancient lead works on the Mendip Hills where in 2016 a local man chose to end his life. Against the backdrop of seasonal change and the cycles that are observed over several years, the work explores the elegiac potential of the land and the memorializing act of photography. The work attempts to invite questions around the paradox of outdoor, ‘natural’ spaces – how these provide well documented benefits for health and wellbeing, but are often infused with pathos and melancholy, and are frequently the destination of choice for those seeking to end their lives. The series is accompanied by a text by Jacky Bowring PhD, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University, New Zealand, and author of A Field Guide to Melancholy (2008) and Melancholy and the Landscape: Locating Sadness, Memory and Reflection in the Landscape (2017).