Devon

I spend a lot of time exploring Devon, mainly by car, but also walking and cycling as well. Each mode of transport has their benefits but all allow me the time to think and look. 

Devon is a sizeable county and although I have lived here for 9 years now I am still discovering villages, hamlets and corners that provide fresh inspiration. Durlescombe, the series I am currently working on is heavily layered and so often the photographic decisions I make are led by instinct rather than considered thought. The time for consideration is when the work is being edited, it’s at this point that the selection of images is integral in creating the desired narrative and atmosphere I want for Durlescombe. With this series I realise that there is a fine line between stereotyping a place, or wallowing too much in nostalgia. What defines Devon? This a complicated question, as it would be to try and define any region, place, city or country. I am not trying to determine the definitive Devon, in fact the Devon that is portrayed in Durlescombe is just as much a figment of my imagination and a response to childhood memories than a statement of fact or a definition of any real place. However, there are certain constants within the landscape that I believe help define Devon, and when I stumbled across this landscape last weekend it managed to illustrate those elements perfectly. The hills, valley, farmhouse, thatched roof, fields, livestock, river, woods, and the country lane are all aspects that signify Devon for me and to be able to contain them all within a singular frame felt special.  

Macula - Park in the Dark

Macula have been working on a series of images in Heavitree Park, Exeter. We had a very atmospheric night a few weeks ago when the park was covered in a thick blanket of fog. I couldn’t resist taking this photo, unashamedly referencing the horror films of my youth. 

Mack - First Book Award 2017

I have been making some new copies of my Durlescombe book as it has been nominated for the Mack First Book Award. It’s a time consuming process working through the different stages but ultimately rewarding once you have the finished book. The new edition was re-edited with the assistance of David Chandler.

Dartmoor Prison - Telegraph Commission

I don’t think I could have asked for a better commission than this one, taking images of Dartmoor Prison for the Telegraph, other than perhaps being allowed inside! Thanks to Andy at the Telegraph I had a productive and enjoyable day taking various images of the Prison. 

Unveil'd Festival - 2016

Following on from the success of the Unveil’d Festival in 2015 this year the festival was significantly more ambitious in its scope. The festival ran for 4 days at the end of October, although it had been close to a year in the planning. Tom Coleman and Martyn Windsor led this and were supported by myself and Jessica Lennan. They were successful in applying for a significant amount of money from Arts Council England which helped stage an exciting series of events, exhibitions and talks. This included a day of talks held in Exeter, featuring six established international photographers. 

Dodo - Sian Davey - Martha

So Jes and I have taken over Dodo Photo and we are really excited to be showing Sian’s new series Martha as part of the Unveil’d Festival. The opening night was lovely, made all the better by Martha and all her friends coming along to see themselves on the wall! 

Source Graduate Selection

I was selected by Cliff Lauson of the Hayward Gallery for the Source Graduate platform. 

Darch's documentary-style images, both archival and contemporary, of the fictional town of Durlescombe harken back to some of the long-standing questions about the veracity of photography. Ranging from portraits to the smallest details of rural life, the series works together to paint a convincing picture of this non-exsistent village. But beyond this conceptual framework, his photographs are also powerful atmospheric constructions. There's a great tension between stillness and motion in many of his images, used succesfully along with bold composition strategies. 

It is always a great pleasure to be involved with graduate work, and as a visual arts curator, I am generally interested in images that work across both conceptual and aesthetic lines. This can be a tricky balance to strike, but it is one that a number of photographers in this year's submissions have accomplished with a high degree of originality and impact. In some works, I could see the influence of historical photographers resonating, but filtered through very contemporary topics and themes. Transition, thresholds, and change seem to be the prevalent topics of the more representational images, while others depict the quieter moments and traces of places that appear all the more charged for their abandon. I had a strong gut reaction to all of the works that I selected - they stirred something inside of me and drew me into the photographer's story, as all good artwork should.

MA/MFA

I have spent the last three years studying at Plymouth University, first completing a Masters in Photography & The Book and then an MFA in Photographic Arts. This time has been invaluable for me to re-engage with a photographic practice which stopped almost before it started over a decade earlier. I just missed out on achieving a distinction for my degree in Documentary Photography at Newport, which I struggled with for the last couple of years due to ill health. So psychologically for purposes of closure, I felt it was important to achieve a distinction for my Masters at Plymouth. It was a bonus that I then achieved a distinction for the MFA as well. Also my girlfriend got a distinction for her masters, so of course I had to do the same! In the scheme of things I don’t actually think grades and marks are that important, but just due to a particular set of circumstances it was important for me.