My work explores concepts of place and displacement, connection and disconnection. I’m particularly drawn to fragile, untended and often overlooked or unremarkable places and will repeatedly revisit he same locations during different seasons to observe transient or temporal changes. Discovering new narratives, connections and unexpected resonances I find within the familiar it’s still possible to get lost.
Walking has always been central to my life and walks I made with my grandfather form some of my earliest memories. Our wayfinding journeys to somewhere and nowhere, with no definite plan or itinerary, the wrong turnings and random encounters still shape my life today.
This series of images was made in two disused limestone quarries in the Peak
District. Whilst quarries and resulting spoil heaps are seen as an intrusion and disfigurement in areas of outstanding beauty these large-scale earthworks are a dynamic palimpsest where vestiges of archaeological, geological and human histories converge. This excavated terrain is a constant reminder of how humanity and industry has continuously erased and overwritten both the visible and invisible landscape. My work attempts to mediate between the elusive past and present and the hidden and indecipherable.
The images are made on instant film using an Instax wide camera which I began using as a contrast from digital photography. I’ve always been interested in the unique singular photograph which can’t be manipulated or reproduced and both the camera and film were an affordable option within my limited budget. Learning how to overcome the optical limitations of this rudimentary camera has been an intuitive and visceral process initially with more mistakes and mishaps than successful outcomes. There’s a sense of anticipation of getting something I didn’t quite expect and a slower and more deliberate way of working. These small, tactile photo objects draw the viewer into the frame and mirrors the way I intensely observe the particular and small details within the landscape.
Selected images from Kristel’s series are shown below. (click to view image at full size / format)
ABOUT KRISTEL COLLISON
Born in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, Kristel Collison graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1990. After struggling financially Kristel worked in an unrelated occupation, lived on a narrowboat and had a long break from any kind of creative practice. She began a journey back to photography in 2016. Her current work is concerned with place, landscape and personal recollection.
Kristel’s work has been included in group exhibitions in the following galleries:
- Cupola Gallery, Sheffield.
- Gallery Steel Rooms, Brigg.
- Artizan Gallery, Torquay.
- Penrallt Gallery and Bookshop, Machynlleth.
She currently has a solo exhibition at Create Coffee, Sheffield and will exhibiting with Shutterhub at Festival Pil’ours, France in July 2019.
Instagram: @kristel.collison
Twitter: @KristelCollison
Website: kristelcollison.com
CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Kristel Collison
