Whispers from an Ancient World
My MA Final Project is finished! Whispers of the Ancient World, has only just begun…
Whispers from an Ancient World, by Sullaman. © T. S. Clark (2023)
As I develop my technique, I plan to find more spectacular ancient trees, and experiment with photographing them in new ways. This is my attempt at the EcoGothic, embracing the sublime, to suggest that they have character and something greater to them than being ‘just’ a tree, and demand a sense of awe when in their company. Each is an individual, and I have a story tell about each one too. Unfortunately all I know is a mere fragment of their existence, and it is unfathomable to me to fully know what their experience of the world must be like. I will tell the story of my experience with each of them individually, over the coming weeks, and bring in new ones to the fold. The MA Photography course has been hugely instrumental in helping me find this direction, and elevate my work. I cannot thank or recommend them enough!
For now, this is where the university part of this project ends, but this only marks the beginning of where it will go. The prints are ready, and the exhibition is next to prepare for. Much more will be added to this site soon, including high quality limited edition prints, and new social media channels.
Watch this space!
The Forest and the EcoGothic
How and why have forests been depicted as dark, scary places for so long? This book has the answers, and shows the way to move forward…
“Robert Harrison, in his seminal work Forests: The Shadow of Civilisation (1992), mourns the widespread loss of our connection to the woods, arguing that we now see them as mere setting and resource. We have largely lost the ability, it seems, to see them as truly strange, monstrous, and enchanting.”
Elizabeth Parker, The Forest and the EcoGothic: The Deep Dark Woods in the Popular Imagination (p. 5; Palgrave MacMillan, 2021)
On my trip to photograph Sherwood Forest, due to the historical and mythical tales of Robin Hood, and also as one of the largest collections of ancient oaks in Europe, I started reading The Forest and the EcoGothic, and it had a profound effect, particularly on my vision for my final project. It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
In this book, which focuses on the darker, scarier side of depictions of forests, Elizabeth Parker reiterates some of the points Harrison made in Forests. Parker says that people's fascination with the romanticised concept of forests reflects their sense of loss and the significance of forests to them, and is symbolic of a variety of emotions and situations, including danger, renewal, and bewilderment. She explains the literature on forest mythologies is vast, and Gothic depictions of forests in stories may be the result of innate fears and fears created in stories. During environmental crises, Parker argues for seeking out ‘Gothic Nature’, as well as ‘Romantic Nature’, because it brings an important darkness of nature worth embracing.
When I started reading this, I had just taken some shots that would open up a new way of portraying trees to me, that fit in superbly with the Gothic and Romantic, by evoking the ‘sublime.’
“In a broader sense, The Forest and the EcoGothic significantly examines our representations of and relationship to nonhuman Nature. It does so in a time when understanding—and questioning—this relationship is more vital than ever before.”
(p. 3; Parker, 2021)
Finding forests and seeking skies
I found a misty scene unfolding in Sherwood Forest as it got dark.
Images from Cleeve Hill, Forest of Dean, Savernake Forest and Sherwood Forest. Copyright T. S. Clark 2023 ©
I continued to capture images that I thought I could use in some way for my project. At first as potential assets for compositing or double exposures, hence the sky shots. Later as either images I could use for a final selection without fully knowing why, or simply to experiment and discover a new approach. The trip to Sherwood Forest was the last of this approach for my final project, as it was on my way there that I found a new technique.
Langdon Hill and Golden Cap
A walk around a wooded hill to get to the highest point on the South Coast, for some spectacular sunset views!
While visiting relatives on the South Coast in Dorset, I took the opportunity to walk around the wooded Langdon Hill, up to the highest point along the Jurassic Coast, Golden Cap. I hoped to get more images that could be used as scenes or assets for my project, as well as having good stretch of the legs rewarded with magnificent views. It wasn’t too busy, and I spotted and heard wild creatures around me, including a kestrel hovering to find its last meal of the day. © T. S. Clark (2023)
A walk around Stourhead
A refreshing visit to the area surrounding Stourhead, where I found myself among beautiful nature.
After a difficult period of poor health, I managed to get out to walk on the hills around Stourhead, where I continued to search for usable assets, discover some history, and enjoy the wonderfully therapeutic experience of being in a beautiful green space. © T. S. Clark (2023)
A visit to the New Forest
I went to the New Forest, to see what was around as darkness fell…
After visiting a relative nearby, I stopped at one of my favourite locations for photography over the years, and probably my most photographed woodland landscape, the New Forest. I took pictures until it was too dark to continue. I was pleased that the ponies would allow me to get reasonably close, but I made sure to keep enough distance and emanate a gentle presence. © T. S. Clark (2023)
Continuing from my previous project…
In Interrogating Practice, the penultimate module for MA Photography, I produced a set of images created through combining exposures, to generate abstract forest images inspired by woodland folklore and mythology…
In Interrogating Practice, the penultimate module for MA Photography, I produced a set of images created through combining exposures, to generate abstract forest images inspired by woodland folklore and mythology, but to be deliberately ambiguous in interpretation.
A large part of this choice came from my background and interest in filmmaking and visual storytelling. As the module was oriented to experimental practice, I opted for more abstract results, but I was keen on exploring the story-inspired image further, with perhaps a clearer, more literal interpretation.
My initial idea for the final project, was to start with the double exposure approach that I’d established in the previous module, and introduce additional elements as assets and blend them in to create visual depictions of fictional scenes that take place in forest settings, inspired by mythology, fantasy and history, but with a contemporary twist.