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Phillip Edwards
Based in Surrey, England, I'm a landscape photographer but one who is particualrly drawn to the sea, whether in the UK or abroad. I relish the challenge of trying to capture its constant restless motion, often through long exposure, intentional camera movement or composition that hones in on the abstract.
The Light and Form Group’s inaugural ‘Where the Land Meets the Sea’ exhibition takes place at the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham, Surrey, from 17-28 September 2019.
It features more than twenty works by landscape photographers Phil Edwards, Lisa Mardell and Jo Pannifer, inspired by that magical space where sea, sand and sky meet, and also showcases contemporary silver jewellery by Tracy King.
Ahead of the exhibition, Phil Edwards shares his thoughts on why the group is so drawn to the sea.
"Almost all of us first encounter the sea from the shore, and our response to it is inextricably bound up with that relationship, with how the ocean interacts with the land. That is the shared thread in the work amongst the three photographers on display.
While principally drawn from locations around the UK and Ireland, and, on occasion, made when all three of us were present together, the specific places captured are rarely identifiable. Nor do they need to be. Instead, the images capture a representation of that recalled, unique and ephemeral moment when the act of witnessing the sea and the shore meeting leaves an indelible impression that it itself is informed and layered from previous encounters.
With the unifying palette of the colour images the many hues of blue that the sea possesses, a balancing contrast is present in the the sand, the sunsets and the shadows represented which act to bring harmony to the compositions. For the monochrome works on display, the subtle gradations of light highlight the ethereal sky and the texture of stone and shore.
The use of long exposure and Intentional Camera Movement in several of the images has been employed to recreate the collected and compressed moments of watching the sea and coast interact, and the indelible impression on our memories that this leaves.
In other works, the presence of a bird or a lighthouse figure prominently, but not dominantly, always anchored to that interplay of light and form that is the coast."
Tidal Lines by Phil Edwards
Storm Approaching by Lisa Mardell
Sea Curves by Jo Pannifer
‘Where the Land Meets the Sea’ is being held at the New Ashgate Gallery, Wagon Yard, Farnham GU9 7PS from September 17th–28th 2019. The gallery is open from 10am–5pm but will be closed on September 22nd and 23rd. For more information on the gallery and for more on the photographers see www.lightandform.co.uk