I hope you are safe and well.
I wanted to let you know that Form, the book I started working on a year or so ago, will be published in the new year along with a related series of audio episodes. I am currently working through editing the texts and audio, with book design also in progress.
Form incorporates words, images and sound primarily focussing on selected, previously undertaken, projects. The book will be published as a limited edition with the audio episodes being published weekly via this platform. You can find a brief outline below - further details will follow early in the new year.
I very much hope you can have a relaxing break over the coming weeks and that the new year will bring you happiness.
Form is a gathering of selected fragments reflecting aspects of the development of what became my long-term project photographing in the Valleys. These fragments include glimpses of motivations and politics, elements of research and methodologies, brief encounters and formative relationships, and not least the necessary persistence needed to develop and complete projects. For those familiar with my work, Form may offer unexpected insights into the development of the broader project. For those who don’t or who are starting out on a journey of their own, these fragments may provide some pointers for approaching the development, completion and dissemination of personal projects.
In the latter part of Form, I reflect on my earliest work relating to the Valleys and how being introduced to the book American Photographs by Walker Evans not only inspired me, but almost led me to give up photography altogether. This was a period where I started to think about the relationship between photographs and time, and how photographs had the capacity to record aspects of contemporary society. At the end of Form, I look to the future and contemplate the likelihood of photographing further projects in the Valleys. Since 2010 I have increasingly made photographs in west Wales having been a regular visitor there for many years. In 2021 I moved to the Carmarthenshire hills above the Teifi Valley, finally moving away from the place I have known so intimately. It is this distancing of time and place that makes Form timely in terms of looking back at the work produced over thirty years.
There are two distinctly different, yet related, elements to Form. One is the book with each of the chapters relating to a particular series of photographs. Each chapter is illustrated with photographs from that series along with images of associated ephemera. The other element is the series of audio episodes – each episode contains a chapter of the book read by me; plus, additional audio pieces made on locations relevant to the chapters. The book and the audio series complement each other, but equally, each readily stands as a fully formed presentation in its own right.
I occasionally have announcements on new initiatives. You can sign up to receive updates on activities and events by clicking the button below. I look forward to keeping you updated…
If you have received this information in an email it is because you have previously expressed interest in my work. If you no longer wish to receive this information you can unsubscribe below - apologies for sending if the message is unwanted.