No Horizons; Down To Earth

'Earth', installed in the Sainsbury Centre, relates to a palladium print I made at the turn of the century called 'Filmed Drawing Walking'.

'Drawing' refers to how I used the camera and to the creation of the print in the studio, as well as to the tractors ploughing through the soil. I photographed the ground, pointing the camera straight down as I walked across different fields in various parts of the country; creating strips of many 35mm film, both monochrome and colour, that hung from my ceiling. In some cases they were combined in the same composition; colour and contact prints being added to the earlier palladium photographs.

I used the variety of pigmentation of soils to provide my palette. Colour relationships were achieved by abutting individual frames as the composition grew. Clay provided ochres, frosted furrows formed silvery blues, Herefordshire soils gave reds.

I regarded the completed compositions as fundamental and essential English landscapes.

I have found no place in these works for a horizon. I eliminate it when I can,