9 May 2021

New Photography 2021



It doesn't seem unreasonable to state that our attention is focused on nature today. I mean, a pandemic and its huge impact on our lives, fiscal anxiety post- 2009 and our ever-increasing immersion in new technologies, all lead to a perhaps, reticent acknowledgement that the intrinsic, healing powers of nature and our mistreatment of the natural world need urgent attention. Paradoxically, coerced into ever-decreasing circles where one of our few pleasures is to exercise in the countryside or in our gardens, healing and contemplation commence. I was never one to concentrate on ecological problems, conceding defeat to an exploitative Capitalist system in my youth. However, when a pandemic is running rampant over our globe even the most experienced or hard-hearted individuals are beginning to develop a new consciousness of our natural environment.It's no longer idealistic, naive or clunky to claim that environmental issues require our attention; it's no longer about a willingness to unquestionably swallow or dispute scientific hypotheticals or vague facts, it's about pragmatism and the evidence that's unfurled before our eyes. I'm not suggesting that people should disengage their capacity for critical thinking or withdraw from practical, commercial realities and the deep-rooted politics that colour our social interactions. 
But, it is time to address nature and acknowledge its necessity to both our existence and to our health.

Simon.