DPI Interview

dpi: As a photographer, you express the scenes reflected in your eyes as well as in your mind. What’s the scene you would like the viewers to catch in your pictures?

Nicholas: There is a variation around a theme within my work – essentially I am searching for visual representation of the human relationship to nature. The majority of my landscape work purposely seeks to exclude any signs of our existence, preferring instead to concentrate on that which resides in the psyche. You could say that I wish to make an impression wider than the framed image itself - something that resonates with the viewer – Ideally work that will engage a level of contemplation - of silence. There is a level of ambiguity rather than too fixed a meaning.

dpi: In the collection of “In Darkness Visible” especially the Verse I, despite contrast between the dark and the misty light, your works still capture an incredible sense of stillness. Would you please talk about this series of works? What inspired you to do such a theme?

Nicholas: In reaction to media led sensory anaesthetisation, and worn by the inadequacy of late political rhetoric, my intention in Verse I was to construct a forest from accumulated memory and the ghosts of trees. The city park offers an escape valve – a window leading the weary city dweller to reconstructed, consumable nature. Having spent a period of two winters’ visiting a central London park this work inverts the decorative Arcadian layout in an attempt to restore a sense of the natural in this cultivated, somewhat synthetic city ‘wilderness’. Through these works my aim was to provide an emotive and atmospheric lament for that deeply ingrained aspect of the human psyche, our deeply held association with the primeval forest as spiritual home, which is lost, but may, in contemplating these visual idylls be exhumed. These works act as a plaintiff call for that which can be regenerated. During this period I was going through a good deal of change in my life in which stillness was hard to find. Resolving to spend endless days waiting in a familiar vantage point for moments of light to reflect this desire was a good way to settle my senses. In Verse II the framing of the camera helped to reduce the ‘noise’ of distraction whilst still portraying the swirling wild morass of life, indecision, strife, entrapment and the possibility of change. The observation of deep swirling chaos with shafts of enlightenment impresses one with a disarming sense of frailty. In the face of this awesome power we are left nurturing a tender hope for light within the ensuing darkness. One recognises the possibility of slowing down, and discovers the still small voice of calm that in the darkness may yet be visible.

dpi: It seems that each theme in your series of works often took you several years, like “Edge” for 4 years and “In Darkness Visible” for 3 years. How do you develop the themes for your series? Do you have the theme first then take the pictures with the theme, or vice versa?

Nicholas: It is essential for me to let a sequence of images evolve from a location. This may be a consequence of a change in physical location but equally development of a concept and constructing my mental response to an environment. It is significant to absorb a place over time and through seasons. I have my existing concerns, through observation I search for entry points that cross my philosophical stance and through experiment I seek to evolve these in to new representations, the manner in which I now work relies far less on a recording of existing light and shape and is a consequence of how I enforce certain appearances upon my subject matter. With a camera and darkroom this is possibly a longer process than for example a painter.

dpi: Which work (or series of works) is your favourite or the most special for you? Would you share the experience with us?

Nicholas: Each series as it evolves is of primary interest hence my latest works are my preoccupation at present hence my latest works are my preoccupation at present or those yet to come. I often feel restless about what is next… Achievement wise - the first section of In Darkness Visible – Verse I, presented me with the greatest challenge and through that process they occupy a space of special interest to me. This was a very intensive study involving much time and experimentation with exposure. It has been important to me presented with the powers of the digital revolution to find new language within the analogue format. Perhaps producing work as in this series through digital means may have been easier but it would not represent the quieter more disciplined response that I aimed for.

dpi: Tell us about the “Immaterial.” What’s the material you use in this series and why do you call it “Immaterial”?

Nicholas: The word ‘Immaterial’ refers to a lack of concern with consumerism or material wealth and an engagement with matters more spiritual, more significant to our growth as people. Much of the world’s problems are aspects of greed, those not engaged by the ‘need’ to continuously consume more are suffering the consequences of those that are. Moving to live in a high rise building for a two-year period had a profound effect upon the manner in which I was able to study the continual vagaries of light across the city. As my vision gradually progressed I grew accustomed to the constant enormity of high-rise vistas and my attentions turned to the play of light upon my more immediate surroundings. Observing that light falling upon the walls and the morning’s first rays cast upon the subtle folds of curtain fabric, created the same sensory feeling of hypnotic trance like enchantment as I had found whilst looking at the skies above the city or at the sea in earlier studies. For me the elevation of the everyday (in this case domestic interiors) to a platform of contemplation seemed appropriate as the wider world appeared devoid of reason. Although initially my investigations were of curtains hung to keep out the light in Western homes they gradually became a constructed use of cloth hung in a variety of ambient light conditions. Through the availability of subject matter on an everyday basis I was able to bring a great degree of intensity to the study, leading to a gradually reductive process in common with abstraction from the everyday world of appearances.

dpi: What do you care about the most when you are photographing? And what is the most difficult for you when you are working?

Nicholas: In a world where every inch is already documented or satellite accessible it is important to review that which resides on our doorstep. This reviewing of my immediate surroundings examines the plasticity that can be engaged through the camera, as well as reducing my environmental impact significantly - by not chasing the far off and exotic. American philosopher Henry David Thoreau believed that wildness held the key to the preservation of the world. Our materialistic culture has paid scant regard to the depletion of the natural environment. As we have becoming increasingly disconnected from what is left of our manicured ‘natural’ spaces I do not believe we have benefited. People seek to alienate themselves from their surroundings through the increased use of mobile technology whist all the while divorcing them from reality. Mine is a mournful sensory response to the resources on which we are ultimately dependent both physically and spiritually. I am angry at the sidelining and showcasing of nature. How long before ‘Tree Museums’ are a reality? The difficulty is saying these things in a manner that does not turn an audience away. There are many images of destroyed habitats that are ignored through over-saturation – it is more challenging for me to create a thoughtful response both in the manner in which I wrestle with analogue processes and through that which I strive to say.

dpi: What do you usually do in your leisure time?

Nicholas: Usually reading or surfing - the Atlantic not the web!

dpi: What have you been working on recently? Or would you please share what you plan next with us?

Nicholas: I am currently completing a new series of work entitled ‘Field’ – for this series I have refi ned my approach to the extent that I have made works in this three section (I refer to these as verses) series only within walking distance of the location that I have chosen in which to live specifically for this purpose. I have left the city of London and moved as far west in the UK as I can in order to examine what remains of the natural environment. We have changed so much the manner in which we inhabit the world that it seemed a useful starting point to consider our current position. The field is symbolic of our ancient passage from a forest dwelling species to our current role as land management custodians. Somewhere recently I have read that artists need to be apart from the world in order better to observe it. Next I would like to find somewhere new to live and work – conceivably in the Far East!

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