Primary Succession

Primary Succession is a series exploring what we can learn from the landscape as a collaborator rather than subject, challenging colonial traditions of exploitation by seeking a new way of relating to a place as a living entity. The shale bings of West Lothian were created by Scotland’s oil industry in the 19th Century, towering man-made heaps of spent oil-shale dotted across the landscape. Once seen as eyesores, they are now recognised as unique habitats that harbour endangered species. I am interested in what we can learn from this transformational cycle, and how we can approach nature on its own terms. Inspired by the era of the bing’s creation (1860’s-1930’s) I have been using cameras from that time, embracing the unpredictable results and giving up much of my control over the final image. I have also been exploring other ways that I can reduce the separation between human and non-human by testing plant and earth-based chemistry made from material found on the bing, burying negatives there and investigating other ways to allow the bing to influence the project. I’ve been working to reduce the environmental impact of the series by using found, donated and expired film and paper, all of which also invites uncertainty and loss as part of the process.

"A Map Without Words" is an investigative study into the land that I’m from, a small townland in Northern Ireland that has been home to generations of my family. Despite their deep connection to the land, these working-class lives are often absent from official archives. To counter this narrative, I created a catalogue of my images based on British Museum standards, creating an archive of the land from my family’s perspective. The work underscores the value of these places to us while also critiquing the limitations of photography and archives in fully capturing their significance.