The current why: I am an opportunistic photographer that takes photos as a secondary pursuit when I am doing something else: walking, travelling, working on an allotment, …
The future why: I am angry that for many reasons – but mainly greed and selfishness – the world is sleepwalking into environmental Armageddon when a better, healthier future is within our reach. I would like to get as many people as possible to think about the environmental issues that we face and what they personally might do to make a difference.
I am still trying to work out the how and the what.
Inspiration from Joel Pett’s famous cartoon
5 Miles radius
Allotment
A year in the life of an allotment. Are they contentious? Do they occupy land that could be used for housing?
Documenting walks/walking
- Walking the land. Can I do anything with my 2022 walk? Or the idea of The Lonesome Trail?
The making of a Library Of Things
- Stroud is possibly thinking of creating a Library Of Things. It would be good to follow that journey from drawing board to final implementation.
Rodborough Common
- Common People – looking into the people (and dogs) who use Rodborough Common.
Registration plates
- Riffing on the idea of the green stripe seen on registration plates. Adding it in different contexts (cycling, allotment, wheelbarrow, walking, etc.) to invite a conversation about what it is to be green.
- Maybe use a Red Amber Green system – like for food. Salt, fat, sugar. Can we agree on the colours? – A detailed classification based on whose opinion? survey public?
- https://www.bespoke-plates.co.uk/ https://www.customplates.uk/
Stroud Farmers Market
- Following the stories of the individuals who run it and sell at it.
Highlighting industries that are still putting profits before the planet
- Pastiche sending up the continuing glamour of airlines (esp. Virgin) and old 50’s cigarette ads. What will we think of these brands/adverts in 30 years time?
- http://brandalism.ch/ activists “re-branding”.
Communication
- How do the people with vested interests for things to stay the same communicate?
- How do environmentalists communicate?
- Investigate the power of the media, advertising, PR, etc. which are all complicit in prolonging the idea that we/they are doing enough. The nature of the problem is that it is a) long term b) perceived as affecting “us” less c) subject to some incredibly complex science which makes it easier to dispute everything.
- The need to create an alternative narrative. Positive message rather than negative. No sad polar bears.
Photo Montage
- Kennard Phillipps photo montages
- https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/15/tony-blair-selfie-photo-op-imperial-war-museum
Collaborating with the public on thoughts about the environment
- To borrow an idea from Gillian Wearing to ask people to come up with a single word (and display on card) when they think of The Environment. Also borrow from John Baldessari who set rules about the number of attempts (e.g. 36 because that’s how many photos in single 35mm roll of film). Trying for an honest set of results which better reflect what society thinks rather than cherry-picking results.
A film made of still images
I was inspired by the film La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962). I have already done a (5 minute) personal project, syncing images to a soundtrack and I found this very satisfying.
Questions
What is the best context to share these ideas? How do you (ultimately) reach the most amount of people? Is it more important to get the right people to see the ideas?
- An exhibition in a gallery?
- A book?
- A blog?
- A library?
- Outside the House Of Commons?
- A workshop?
How do I make work that is accessible and resonates with a large number of people but is still sufficiently ‘academic’?