This mini feature showcases one of the eighteen open submission portfolios selected for inclusion in our printed journal based on the theme of the right to roam
Recently it is easy to feel as if the world is turning its back on itself: phrases of restriction (often triumphalist) such as “border walls”, “apartheid barriers”, “criminalisation of trespass” and “ending freedom of movement” all add to a sense of a fragmenting, atomizing global society. Covid has of course added further such terms to our vocabulary: “lockdown”, “stay local”, “travel ban”, “shelter in place”. This last, on examination, seems to me particularly bittersweet and paradoxical.
In this context, the Wales Coast Path remains a beacon of access and liberty, a place where all can connect with the arching beauty and mystery of nature, a place where we can shelter and seek consolation. Yet it is also fragile, threaded between the crashing sea and private land: industry, agriculture, military ranges, and golf courses are constantly at our shoulder. We pick our way carefully along this path, accompanied by the knowledge that erosion by water, human action or legislation could snap the fragile thread at any time.
For me, for my family, and for countless others, the anticipation of a trip to walk stretches of this ancient, haunted and magnificent coast gives a welcome boost to the soul, yet this last year travel restrictions have prevented us time and again from making that journey. These images then, created from prints I made in the early 2000s at various locations on the path in Pembrokeshire, are intended as a meditation on the fragility of our access to nature in a contracting and increasingly aggressively restrictive world.
The full set of images from the open submission are shown below (click to view image larger in the original format).
CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Huw Morgan
THE JOURNAL
Our biggest, most content packed, and socially current publication to date, exploring the theme of the right to roam. Featuring an introduction by our very own co-founder Rob Hudson and a selection of work from 37 contributors, including the one featured above. Click on the image of the journal cover below to take you to the journal’s information and ordering page.
