To PhD v2...

Back in November 2021, I wrote a blog post with the same title (almost). Things changed a tad since then and I have been successful in securing a PhD place with Falmouth University via its Environmental Futures programme.

I am incredibly excited. I’m writing this ahead of my third day of induction. I have to say, I’ve veered from excitement and I can do this to what the hell am I doing, it’s too much quite a few times. But that itch I mentioned previously still needs scratching.

At this moment, I’m still waiting to finalise in principle support via my workplace (I’m currently in full-time employment). The reality is, if I don’t earn a certain amount, I risk the security of my family and the roof over our heads. I won’t do that so there is the slim chance I won’t be able to carry on or may have to defer my PhD - it’s a sobering thought when I have yet to truly ‘begin’ but is a part of the whole PhD process.

Still having a loan to pay from my Masters, taking on more monetary burden while facing a cost of living crisis is not something I can do. Even as a mature student, I’m not from a wealthy background, this PhD isn’t just to fill time (please don’t think I’m saying for those comfortably off and doing a PhD it’s just a hobby, I’m not - but the luxury of ready money does provide the luxury of free time).

But a challenge is something I love. So I am determined to see this thing through and (for a moment) add something to the world that wasn’t there before.

Photo block

I seem to be feeling rather sorry for myself of late. I can’t seem to get my creative photo mojo going and I am therefore becoming more annoyed at myself. What I do need to do is give myself a break. I’m not in the luxurious position of having the freedom to create when the urge takes me, instead, like many others, I’m curtailed to fit my creativity in around other life needs.

Sometime this makes me resentful; I hyper focus on what feels like time slipping away, I think I’m missing out. I’ve always found social media a wonderful means of learning about other artists, and I am truly honoured to have ‘met’ so many for the Photopocene podcast. But I think it’s coming to a time to take a break from what others are doing and concentrate on what I am doing.

One way I’ll be doing this is through the Part of the Patchwork series, which considers our ‘allotted' space, land access rights and the human impact on our natural resources such as soil and water through the prism of a North Cornwall allotment site.

Started in 2020, I have recently been considering the artistic content of this series, with a mind to evolve how I produce the work. Initially, I had planned to combine black and white portraits of allotment holders recreated with the anthotype process with unfixed/hybrid lumens of objects of meaning to them to represent the bond we have with the land beneath our feet. But now, I am of a mind to look to the soil from each individual patch to recreate the portraits. To form this bond from the soil which underpins what can be grown to them as the growers. There are plenty of ideas bouncing around and it has to feel right but at least I’m not totally bereft of my photo mojo.

I’m catching up with my artist ‘buddy’ this week. Established via CAMP, this is a chance to connect with an artist from across Devon or Cornwall as a means to share ideas, and chat about life and any artistic challenges. It’s not about being a mentor or any other demands so I’m hopeful it will provide a new take on my creative life. It can sometimes seem isolating when working on your own practice, even though I’m probably more of a loner than a social butterfly, and I’m looking forward to a no-pressure experience and hopefully building a new art-related relationship.

How do you cope when you get into a creative slump? Be lovely to hear your thoughts.

SUstainable. So what?

Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed. Not just by the things in society which trouble me such as the government, wars, cost of living, animal welfare, and Covid but also by what now seems a plethora of ‘sustainable’ photographic voices.

I am not the first photographer interested in environmental matters. I am not the first to consider my photographic footprint in the creation of my work - although possibly one of the earliest in what has become a current ‘hot’ UK photography sector topic, particularly for those artists working with alternative photography processes. But I am humbled to learn from a previous lecturer on my MA (2016-2018) that I “helped to set a standard for the MA in terms of sustainability concerns and best practice”.

And it is good we have a variety of voices challenging the art form we love to be more sustainable. But what does that truly mean for photography?

A project taking shape in Cornwall via Exeter University’s Environment and Sustainability Institute is led by Falmouth University lecturer and photographer, Oliver Raymond Barker. Titled Origin Of Silver, the description on the ESI website is very similar to some elements of the wording of my PhD proposal, which I need to accept by 29 April if I am to start in September 2022. The project is considering what it deems is photography’s stumbling block, silver. I’m looking forward to what Oliver and the other artists/scientists uncover, and I have to acknowledge, I would have loved to have been a part of it, but hopefully the outcome can be considered in my PhD, Sustaining a photographic shift through sustainable practices: is this photography’s next evolution?

I don’t want this growing interest in the environmental impact of photography just to be the latest craze. And sometimes not being a part of the work others are bringing to the table can feel frustrating. I’m passionate about bringing these voices together, regardless of professional/academic level and, I hope I’m not alone as this feels a little uncomfortable to say, but by not being a part of something on my doorstep it almost feels like a rebuke, as if there’s a gang that won’t let me join or I’m not picked for the rounders team. I’ll put my ego back in its box now, as I know this isn’t the case in the slightest.

Recognising my time limitations is something I have to accept - I still have to hold down a demanding full-time job. But it is why my PhD is very real-world focused. It will be rooted in individuals, communities, farming, fishing, and the photographic industry, drawing on practice-based outcomes and the psychology of aesthetics to dig deeper into how nature-based solutions can be combined for the benefit of our natural and photographic worlds.

Although our consumerist society can feel overwhelming at times, my work can’t just create more ‘stuff’ and this is a constant balancing act. Can photography truly evolve and from its very base level offer alternatives to the manufacturing processes it relies on?

Time will tell. And hopefully, so will the plethora of creative photographic artists looking more deeply at the topic, including me.