Graduate Photography 2009 Curator Selections

http://www.source.ie/graduate/2009/selections/selection1.html

Brendan's focus on an abstracted landscape, in which he uses a close-up point of view results in beautiful compositions. He asks us to see our environment afresh and gives us a new perspective on our relationship with our surroundings.

Ashley Givens, Assistant Curator of Photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

INTIMATE DISTANCE

On April 12th 1961 Yuri Gagarin, in the Vostok 1 spacecraft - launched by the Soviet space programme - became the first human cosmonaut to leave the earth’s atmosphere and achieve spaceflight. Eight years later the first American astronauts landed on the moon, which still remains the furthest distance humanity has travelled from its birthplace.

Despite the rapid growth and improvement in technology over the last forty years, the advancement of space flight has been relatively slow. However, as the uncertainties facing our planet’s future proliferate and intensify, many nations have begun to invest large sums of money in astronomy and cosmology. In total, thirteen space agencies have now been formulated, of which NASA is just one.

On the north-eastern coastline of Norfolk lies the community of Happisburgh, a large village with a rich history dating back to the eleventh century. The people of Happisburgh are being labelled Europe’s first “climate refugees”, and in less than fifty years the entire neighbourhood will lie in ruins, deep below the North Sea.

These photographs of Happisburgh are inspired by an astronaut's-eye view of earth, in all its ineffable beauty and fragility. They express a view of our micro and macro cosmology and act as a porthole through which people may enter into a greater understanding of our universe's entirety and of the challenges facing humanity in years to come. In their abstraction the images reflect man’s interaction with the environment and express the transience of life and the implacable, destructive erosion taking place within this struggling area. That which we share on earth is far greater than that which divides us; and seeing earth from space permits these divisions to dissolve. In truth we comprise only one race: earthlings.


"We are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history. Our population and use of the finite resources of planet earth are growing exponentially along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill. But, our genetic code still carries a selfish and aggressive instinct for survival. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million. Our only chance of long tern survival is not to remain inward looking, but to spread out into space."

Professor Stephen Hawking – 2008, NASA’s 50th Anniversary


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TRAINING GROUNDS

The relationships between man, animal and nature are timeless connections that entwine feelings of dependency, trust and understanding. These photographs look into landscapes centred within Ministry Of Defence sites around the Welsh landscape and particularly whilst the Police Force are using them as the training grounds for their canine units.

Within the body of work, a balance between control and freedom is something that has tried to be achieved, which is reflective of this environment, but also of our political and social lives in relation to our current World. These landscapes are dominated by authority and control, but also filled with untouched beauty and quietness. The figures appear barely visible, which highlights the unknown and hidden power within authoritative groups, but in contrary it also disregards their uniforms and speaks more about the subtle connections between man and nature.

Brendan Berry – Photographer ©

2°C

Multiple changes are occurring simultaneously around the globe at an increasing pace. Energy and resource scarcities have emerged or intensified. Different trade regimes have evolved. New communication and information technologies have exploded into daily life. New human health issues have appeared, and old health issues have, in some cases, been exacerbated. Changes in global climate and associated patterns of extreme weather events must be added to this list, especially for the global poor whose very livelihoods depend directly in many instances on the use of specific natural resources.

The figure of 2° Celsius has derived from looking into what might occur if the levels of carbon di-oxide in the atmosphere were doubled from what they were pre-industrially. 2° Celsius has subsequently become the globally understood and uniform figure of representing the term ‘Dangerous Climate Change’. In 1900 carbon di-oxide existed in the atmosphere at 280 parts per million and today levels have reached 560 parts per million, which has been held responsible for a 0.8° Celsius rise in our global temperature with a 1.5° Celsius rise already built into our climate backlog. This photographic project seeks to identify the opinions of some of the most influential scientists and correspondents working within the UK, whom are analyzing data in relevance to human induced carbon emissions. The work looks into their unfamiliar environments and looks to identify them as more than statistical hideaways. It also directly shows their opinion on the time that we have left to stop carbon di-oxide levels raising temperatures beyond 2° Celsius and causing ‘Dangerous Climate Change’.

Brendan Berry – Photographer ©

SANDA - in the presence of

Sanda is a wonderful piece of heaven. Its serenity and tranquility alows these fertile grounds of some four hundred acres to become alive with magic and voice. I am able to share some of this good fortune with occational visitors in the summer months, however Brendan’s imagery considers the time when Sanda returns totally alone, through the Winter and Spring months. When the wild winds and driving rains are mellowed by fantastic winter light and calm frosty days, this mystical Island remains in the presence of its wise spirit and tender silence.

Text by Dick Gannon - Island Owner

Brendan Berry – Photographer ©