To remember, recollect, think of, bear in mind
2020
Over 900 NHS staff and care workers lost their lives to the Coronavirus while caring for the ones we love. Key workers risked, and continue to risk, their lives daily to protect others.
This body of work serves as a memorial to those who have sacrificed so much on the front line, and as a visual reminder for future generations not to forget them. The images stand as quiet records of loss, honouring individuals who gave their lives to keep us safe. They speak to us, hold us accountable, and invite us to reflect on our shared vulnerability and mortality. When we die, we all return to nature.
Created during the Covid-19 lockdown, the work reflects the collective experience of isolation, grief, anxiety and uncertainty. At the same time, it acknowledges the stillness, silence and strange dissonance of a spring filled with beautiful weather. The sunshine brought comfort for some, yet clashed with the darkness of the unfolding crisis, creating a disorienting emotional landscape.
The images were made using the chlorophyll process, a technique that relies on intense natural light to burn images directly into leaves. Each photograph was exposed for days or weeks, allowing nature to imprint a fading, ghostly presence onto the leaf surface. These fragile, living portraits carry a haunting sense of loss, echoing the impermanence of life and the quiet resilience of memory.
Sustainability First Art Prize Finalist 2020