Portraits
A selection of portraits from projects and commissions.
Lost Meadows
Since 1930 meadows in the UK have declined by 97%.
Meadows are important for combatting climate change as they store carbon within their soil. They support a vibrant eco-system and help maintain a healthy planet. Due to the decline in meadows, some grassland species are already extinct and many are endangered. More widely, the UK now ranks as one of the 10 worst countries in the world for biodiversity loss with only 50.3% left intact. In this country meadows host more vulnerable species than any other habitat, making them one of the most precious ecosystems we have.
This project speaks of the dramatic decline of UK meadows and looks to their future. The images, sometimes botanical in style and sometimes impressionistic, take us on a visual journey through this space. Photograms, created in a direct collaboration with nature, have a raw and organic presence. Impressionistic images of wildflower meadows are an abstract illustration of pesticide contamination on the landscape. These visual references are reminiscent of the 19th century and speak of a period pre-dating the destruction of our meadows. In a brief span of time, the short window of history since then, we have destroyed so much of the natural world.
It is estimated that now only 26,000 acres of wildflower meadows remain. By contrast we have over 12 million acres of private gardens. Rewilding our gardens can help to reverse some of this tragic biodiversity loss. The potential is enormous.
The Hillyfield
The UK was once entirely covered in Wildwood. Now only 2% of this habitat remains. Currently 1133 of these precious woodlands in the UK are under threat, at risk of damage or destruction from development. HS2 is one prominent example, which is set to destroy 108 ancient woodlands. Aside from development, our wildwood also faces risk from tree disease and nitrogen pollution. Over 40% of ancient woodlands are neglected, unmanaged and uncared for because they are not seen as economically viable. This makes them vulnerable to all of the risks listed above. It also has an impact on the overall biodiversity of this country.
The Hillyfield is a rare example of a project balancing ancient woodland restoration alongside sustainable forestry. The 45 acre Woodland Farm on Dartmoor is owned by Doug & Claire who have a vision to create a woodland culture on Dartmoor. It is classed as a PAWS site, where part the original wildwood was replaced by other tree species. When the couple first bought the land there was a diseased plantation of Japanese larch which is a non-native species. They felled this diseased larch and replaced it with native broadleaf. So far 6500 trees have been planted along with 400m of biodiverse hedgerows.
After a lengthy six year legal battle Doug & Claire won the right to build three barns on their land to support their forestry business. The building started in 2019 and will continue until June 2020. To support the ongoing woodland management required, they were also granted permission for the use of two caravans on the land to host volunteers working on the project. This past year has seen a host of keen foresters coming and going periodically to help on the land. These people are learning very specialist skills, which if implemented more nationally could have very real environmental benefits. At the moment we import 70% of our Timber. By supporting forestry we can foster a more local economy and move away from plastic.
