The Island

As always, I am playing catch-up with my news section! If you haven’t already seen I have released my latest book, The Island. Again, self-published like Vale under my own imprint LIDO. Except this time designed by the very talented Tom Booth-Woodger who oversaw the printing of the book at Mas in Istanbul. You can order the book directly from me, or it is also available from selected stockists.

The Art of Documentary Photography in Devon - Symposium

It was a real pleasure to be invited to speak at, ‘The Art of Documentary Photography Symposium in Devon’. The symposium was arranged in collaboration with Beaford to celebrate 50 years since James Ravilious and Chris Chapman started taking pictures in Devon. It was a lovely day, with lots of wonderful stories, both by photographers and subjects that had been photographed by James and Chris. Sadly no pictures of the talk and they weren’t allowed.

Another Country - Gerry Badger

It is such a privilege to see my work included in the book, Another Country, British Documentary Photography Since 1945.

‘Bringing together more than 250 images by over 160 photographers, an expansive history of British documentary photography by renowned photo critic Gerry Badger.’

‘Robert Darch’s balliwick is Devonshire, as shown in his first book The Moor (2018). But his vision is as much imagined as perceived, and he frames much of his work around a fictional town, Durlescombe, in order to position it as art as much as documentary’

The book is published by Thames & Hudson

Durlescombe - Kunsthalle Darmstadt

It was lovely to be able to finally visit my exhibition at Kunsthalle Darmstadt and meet the director León Krempel. I had sadly missed the opening and in conversation with León and Daniel Meadows (whose exhibition opened at the same time) due to illness. 

I am exhibiting work from my on-going series Durlescombe, which is showing until the 8th of May. A huge thanks to Ralph Goertz for curating the exhibition.

Facing Britain - Goslar

It was a busy few days on the road in Germany as we stopped off to see ‘Facing Britain’ in Goslar where I was invited to be in conversation with Michael Stoeber. It was lovely to be able to finally see the exhibition and in such a great venue. Facing Britain is showing until the end of the month at Mönchehaus Museum before heading to Krakow in Poland. A huge thanks to Ralph Goertz for curating the exhibition.

Facing Britain - Goslar

Great to see Facing Britain opening in a new venue in Germany at Museum Goslar! A huge thanks to Ralph Goertz for curating this major exhibition of British Documentary Photography, including images from my series, The Island.

Portrait of Britain Book

It was lovely to receive the Portrait of Britain book to add to my collection! Published by Hoxton Mini Press

Portrait of Britain - Locations

A huge thanks to everyone who sent me photographs of my Portrait of Britain image in different locations around the country.

Sidmouth School of Art - Film

Over the Summer I was invited by David Shrigley and Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub to contribute to a new initiative created by David Shrigley, Sidmouth School of Art. As part of the project I worked with the Local Camera Club, helping selected members create work around the idea of a, ‘Sense of Place’. Their work has subsequently be shown on the Billboard in Sidmouth and on the Sidmouth School of Art Website.

You can see me talking about the project with the members of the club and David Shrigley in this short film below.

Facing Britain Book

A huge thanks to Ralph Goertz for including my work in Facing Britain, currently being exhibited at Kunsthalle Darmstadt in Germany. There is also a book to accompany the exhibition which is being distributed in the UK by Thames and Hudson. My copy arrived this morning, and it’s wonderful to see my photography in the company of some iconic British photographers! The Book is distributed in the UK by Thames and Hudson and available from the Martin Parr Foundation <HERE>

Facing Britain is a large retrospective of British Documentary photography, representing 48 photographers: Mike Abrahams, Meredith Andrews, James Barnor, Rob Bremner, Rachel Louise Brown, John Bulmer, Tessa Bunney, Thom Corbishley, Robert Darch, John Davies, Anna Fox, Ken Grant, Judy Greenway, Mohamed Hassan, Paul Hill, David Hurn, Tony-Ray Jones, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Kalpesh Lathigra, Barry Lewis, Markéta Luskačová, Kirsty Mackay, Fran May, Niall McDiarmid, Daniel Meadows, Roy Mehta, Sandra Mickiewicz, Peter Mitchell, David Moore, Tish Murtha, John Myers, Kevin O'Farrell, Martin Parr, Mark Pinder, Yan Wang Preston, Ryan Prince, Kavi Pujara, Paul Reas, Simon Roberts, Michelle Sank, Syd Shelton, Hazel Simcox, Dave Sinclair, Homer Sykes, Alys Tomlinson, Jon Tonks, Dan Wood und Tom Wood.

News Catchup

I have neglected updating my news section these last six months. Domestic work has taken precedence, having moved into a new home early in the summer. My days have been occupied with building work, floor laying, painting and various other DIY jobs. It is a complete privilege to be a homeowner after years of renting, but thankfully these jobs are all nearing completion and hopefully I can focus again on taking pictures. Although I haven’t taken many pictures, I have quite a few news updates, which I will collate together rather than doing individual posts, with the most recent news first.

Bristol Photo Festival

My series the island is currently being shown as part of the Bristol Photo Festival in a collective show with Helen Sear, Turn to Return. I had a lovely time in Bristol over the weekend, opening the exhibition with an in conversation hosted by Ken Grant. The exhibition is at Centrespace and runs until the 23rd of October.

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Facing Britain

My series the Island is currently being exhibited in Germany as part of a large group exhibition of British Documentary Photography, Facing Britain. This is the second incarnation of the show, curated by Ralph Goertz and featuring 48 photographers, including:

Mike Abrahams, Meredith Andrews, James Barnor, Rob Bremner, Rachel Louise Brown, John Bulmer, Tessa Bunney, Thom Corbishley, Robert Darch, John Davies, Anna Fox, Ken Grant, Judy Greenway, Mohamed Hassan, Paul Hill, David Hurn, Tony-Ray Jones, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Kalpesh Lathigra, Barry Lewis, Markéta Luskačová, Kirsty Mackay, Fran May, Niall McDiarmid, Daniel Meadows, Roy Mehta, Sandra Mickiewicz, Peter Mitchell, David Moore, Tish Murtha, John Myers, Kevin O'Farrell, Martin Parr, Mark Pinder, Yan Wang Preston, Ryan Prince, Kavi Pujara, Paul Reas, Simon Roberts, Michelle Sank, Syd Shelton, Hazel Simcox, Dave Sinclair, Homer Sykes, Alys Tomlinson, Jon Tonks, Dan Wood und Tom Wood.

It is a complete privilege to be included as part of this retrospective of British Documentary photography, the largest exhibition of its kind on this subject. The exhibition is showing at Kunsthalle Darmstadt until early January 2022. General install images Copyright IKS.

You can see my work included as part of a short ARTE documentary <LINK>

Martin Parr Foundation Collection

In the Autumn Martin Parr visited me at home to look through my archive and selected 39 images that he wanted to include as part of the growing archive of British photography he is collecting and housing at the Martin Parr Foundation. It is of course a real honour to have my work recognised and included as part of the archive. I recently visited the foundation to sign the prints.

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Sidmouth School of Art

Over the Summer I was invited by David Shrigley and Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub to contribute to a new initiative created by David Shrigley, Sidmouth School of Art. As part of the project I exhibited images from my Tree on the Hill Series on a Billboard in Sidmouth and worked with the Local Camera Club, helping selected members create work around the idea of, ‘Sense of Place’. Their work will subsequently be shown on the Billboard in Sidmouth and on the Sidmouth School of Art Website which is currently being developed.

You can see me talking about the project in this short film below.

Southbank Centre - Art by Post

In the late spring I was commissioned by the Southbank Centre to photograph several participants involved in their national ‘Art by Post’ project. The project has provided free cultural activities to 4,500 people across the UK aged 18 to 103 at risk of social isolation, loneliness and digital exclusion. The exhibition is made up of more than 600 artworks made in the confines of people’s homes, in response to the artist-commissioned booklets. The physical exhibition, taking place in the Royal Festival Hall, presents a curated selection from the Art by Post project. Participants’ drawings, paintings and poetry are organised by three key themes for the exhibition: nature, sound and movement, and hope. In addition, a selection of portraits of participants photographed on their doorsteps will be shown outside along the Riverside Terrace. The exhibition is running from 20th September to the 3rd of October.

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Ash Dieback Commission

For the last eight months I have been making work as part of a commission by Beaford and Devon Wildlife Trust as a response to Ash Dieback. The work forms part of the DWT’s, ‘Saving Devon’s Treescapes Project’, which was initiated as a response to Ash Dieback. The work is ongoing and over the coming years I will continue to document the changing landscapes in Devon. The first year of the project has been completed and my edit of pictures is live on my website.

This is the first photographic work that has been commissioned for consideration in the Beaford Archive in over 30 years. The Beaford Archive contains over 80,000 images of Devon, best known for James Ravilious’s contribution. 

The spores of the fungus are carried on the wind, travelling for miles, silent and unseen looking for a host. They fall from the sky, first sticking to the leaves and then penetrating deep inside the tree. Once colonised, the fungus grows inside the tree blocking its water transport systems and eventually causing the tree to die. The Fungus which causes Ash Dieback originated in Asia where the native species are resistant to the disease. The first recorded case of the fungus in the UK was in 2006, having made its way to Europe on imported trees. Since then the disease has slowly been spreading and evidence of dieback can now be seen across Britain. However, we are only at the beginning of the epidemic and it is estimated that over the next ten to fifteen years Ash Dieback will eventually kill around 80% of the ash trees in the UK. 

The Ash Tree is one of the most common trees in the United Kingdom. Their loss will be devastating for habitats and the natural environment and it is predicted to cost £15 billion to manage the dieback. 

This last year has shown us that the relationship between humans and the natural world feels like it is at a tipping point, with the Climate Crisis, Environmental Pollution, Covid and Ash Dieback all manifestations of our destructive presence on the earth. 

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Yield Magazine

I was recently interviewed by Mike Rippy for Yield Magazine 12. Lovely to be included alongside Martin Parr, Gregory Halpern, Catherine Edelman, Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin & John Kohring and Charles Baxter.