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Long dark winter months, with an absence of the usual diversions.

Trying to keep busy. These have not been easy days for many. A short interlude for Christmas, and then back to very quiet times.

Covid days.

Time to make a book. Always a happy diversion.

This one was created for the Instagram #areyoubookenough challenge on the topic of frozen. The challenge was started in 2017 by the book artist Sarah Maker, and brings together book artists from all around the world.

I have many images of snow and ice, and many happy memories of trips north, so the topic of 'frozen' had instant appeal.

A dive into my hard drive seemed like a good a place to start.

I searched for 'ice' and 'snow'. Up popped many images that were long forgotten.

Images from Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Yukon and Norway.  Some of the places that I am missing the most.




Firstly, a small fragment of ice from Disko Bay. Ice that has made its way down a glacier, and then broken into fragments as it fall into the icy water of Disko Bay; an iceberg graveyard.

Crystals of watery ice from a glacier. I love the intense sheen of the ice; as if made of metal.

 

Broken ice from a grassy puddle. This from Lofoten, where I was attracted by the texture of the snow crushed grass. This is the scruffy end of winter, when the snow is dirty and starts to melt; not something that is often recorded photographically.

Initially I  printed out many small images.
I  then experimented with different combinations and juxtapositions.

I have chosen tiny fragments of the world together with wide views. It is the juxtaposition of scale that I enjoyed when making this book.

Some images were rejected, as they didn't work with the others, or were just too ambiguous. The one below, of reflections in Disko Bay, Greenland was rejected for not being 'frozen', even though the sea water was icy cold.

For the start of the book I chose images of snow falling at night, and a lump of ice. The raw elements of icy landscapes.

I remember vividly standing under a lampost in Finland capturing snow falling in the early evening, the snow lit by the artificial light; blowing around wildly in the wind.

Then I moved through gradually larger landscapes, trying to find pairings that complemented each other.

Grass and ice.

Black on white, white on black.

A 'landscape' of ice crystals on snow beside a tree in a field.


The images are printed on bamboo paper 110gsm, made into a concertina. The hard cover is covered with a Lotka polka dot paper in black and white. Lotka paper is Nepalese, and is easy to fold around the cover of a book.

You can view the order of images in the book in the slideshow below.

I don't know when spontaneous travel will be possible again. My plans to return northwards in February are very likely to be thwarted.

But as soon as I am able, I will be heading in that direction once more.

In the meantime I will be making this book to order; my glueing skills are coming along in leaps and bounds..........

I took a course recently in psychogeography with the Open College of the Arts.

Psychogeography ?   I hear you ask.... what on earth is that?

Not exactly what I thought it was, it turns out!

I had visions of exploring my feelings and thoughts in relation to my photography, but it turns out to be a lot more complex than that. A lot more historical, political and sociological than I imagined.

So first, let's get the definitions out of the way.

First, from Guy Debord, who first described his urban explorations in 1955 as

'the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals'



​Hmmmmmm-  already the language is getting a bit heavy........


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Secondly, a little video from Will Self, who describes psychogeography as;

'a whole toybox full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities....just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape'.

That is a bit more digestible.​

,, 


We were asked to wander, in an unplanned direction. To take note of what we saw, and to record using photographs, video, sound recordings or any other means that we chose. 

I started the course in Vancouver, so wandered the suburban streets, turning alternately left and right as I descended towards the city.

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I noticed a number of themes that grabbed my attention, but the most powerful was that of the local waterways and a consideration for the environment for local fish.

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It seems that even in the city I am drawn to themes around water, and seek out havens of tranquility. I strolled down mosquito creek, hidden between the suburban houses.

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​I could have gone down the road of 'the naming of Canadian streets after men, battles and golf courses in England', but decided to leave that subject  well alone. 

​For another day perhaps....

 

And then suddenly, my trip was over, and I was back in the UK.

Traditionally psychogeography is an offshoot of city wandering; getting out of one's comfort zone.

But I do not thrive in cities, so I decided to continue my project on the banks of the River Rother in Rye.

​I chose a part of the river that I had never explored before; the salt marsh and river bank between Rye and Camber Sands.

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​I stuck to my theme of water quality, and then it all turned a bit murky......

I was delving into the muddy waters of plastic and sewage pollution of our rivers and beaches.

​I joined the Strandliners for a beach survey of microplastics.

We found biobeads ( filtration beads discharged from sewage treatment plants by Southern Water) and nurdles ( the raw material for plastic production) in their hundreds.

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All of these issues were having a neagtive effect on my psychological status. I discovered a new word to describe the problem 'Solastalgia' -  a form of emotional distress caused by environmental change.

​Going out with the Strandliners was a real help ; meeting like minded locals and feeling that  I was doing something positive made all the difference.

I decided on a way forward for my project that would bring me out of the doom and gloom.

I would look at the dark and light sides of my locality, for a project 'Shore - in darkness and light'.



For the light side I would create colourful multiple exposure images from the salt marsh to convey the positive effects of nature.

For the dark side, I created a series of images of the pollutants in the environment.


​Wet wipes, tampons, plastic toys and coffee cup lids.

items washed up on the salt marsh

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I supported Surfers against Sewage and wrote to my local MP about the environment bill and sewage outages. I got a feeble reply, saying that it was too expensive to stop storm overflows by water companies. But the tide of public opinion is turning and is really making a difference. 

It has been an interesting experience looking at a locality from new perspectives.

​The language of psychogeography was a bit impenetrable, but I have found some new tools to express my thoughts on the landscape, and met some very interesting people, as far away as Australia.

​Now to decide what to do next............. a book perhaps.........