Reimagined Landscapes

by Joseph Wright

This work was borne out of threads of inquiry and experimentation, and an almost obsessive need to continue to remain creative and somehow escape the initial pandemic lockdown in March 2020. Attempting to stay connected to the environments I was now denied access to. But, still wanting to work within the loose confines of photographic processes, exploring their simplest forms – subject, (sun)light, and a receptive material. All whilst never venturing further than 10-feet from my back door.

[click images for slideshow]

One such experiment to create images using the cyanotype process, whilst technically successful, I found dissatisfying in its outcome. So, initially in frustration, I began to explore more direct physical manipulation of the cyanotype materials and found I was able to create abstracts expressions of landscape forms. Forms that constantly colour shifted as the UV light from the sun caused reactions in the cyanotype sensitiser materials, creating image sequences that often spanned many days of exposure to the elements.

In some sense, these works took on a life of their own, each time they are exposed to light they morph and colour shift. I continued to develop the process further by introducing agents to the surface of the media, allowing my imagination to run wild, bringing together memories of landscapes visited and responses to current climate issues - re-imagining the landscape in my mind’s eye. With the only limit being that of my imagination and not the physical confines of the lockdown.

“It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free.” –Dilgo Rinpoch

In some sense these works took on a life of their own, each time they are exposed to light they morph and colour shift. I continued to develop the process further by introducing agents to the surface of the media, allowing my imagination to run wild, bringing together memories of landscapes visited and responses to current climate issues - re-imagining the landscape in my mind’s eye. With the only limit being that of my imagination and not the physical confines of the lockdown.

“It is our mind, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free.” –Dilgo Rinpoche

About Joseph

Joseph is a photographer, photobook designer and publisher based in the English village of Purton, near Swindon in North Wiltshire. Using the mediums of photography and books he reveals stories of the land and how we inhabit it, developed through his lifelong relationship and deep affinity with the countryside and edgelands. 

His work is instinctive in response to place and event. It is frequently rooted in history, toponymy, and topography. He unwinds time and peels back the layers of culture and memory creating work to move beyond the simple aesthetic to reveal a deeper understanding of his subjects. Joseph can best be described as a visual narrator of the inner and outer landscapes.

Joseph is the founder of JW Editions; an independent publisher of photobooks, who produce short run commercially produced edition-based releases, and handmade artist limited editions.

Joseph is also a founding member of the Inside the Outside (ITO) collective – a diverse group of photographers that commonly explore, in highly individual and personal representations of the land around them, the reality of what is before them, and with the often-unspoken ability to express something of their inner selves whilst experiencing being there in the land.

More of Joseph’s work can be found at his website: https://www.josephwright.co.uk/

From the Editor

Hello readers,

Recently Andy Adams of Flak Photo began seeking out photographers who were on Twitter, creating an extensive list of the photo community there. I slowly began to follow people from his list, which led me to find others, as well. It has become a highly enjoyable (!) divergence from the way I traditionally use Twitter. If you have not been using Twitter to network with other photographers, I recommend trying it out.

From that effort, I began to “meet” numerous photographers from the U.K. That ultimately led to my discovering Joseph as he simultaneously began to post this emerging body of work. I fell in love with these as soon as I saw the first triptych he posted.

Upon first sight, I had no insight into his process or intentions for this work. For me, they evoke an archetypical landscape, but yet one not quite from this world. Haunting and beautiful, they also sound a dire warning on the immediate need of humans to act on, rather than react to, climate change.

I wrote to Joseph about his cyanotypes and he kindly agreed to let me feature them here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

–Diana Nicholette Jeon