Waking up in the dark, I run through the woods and fields in the half light of dawn, crossing sensory and psychological boundaries. These attempts to capture the rush of the ephemeral result in the trampling of sacred ground. The pursuit causes devastation, in that all too human way of corrupting beauty through insatiable appetites. My search for intimacy in nature embodies the desire for connection and the frustration of separation.

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Warning Signal is a photographic series that encapsulates the body of work I have been making in Bruton since moving from London in 2020. As an urban interloper in the rural environment I’m taking time to learn the language of this place.

Preoccupied with the impact of human life on the natural world, I notice neon markings on the woodland trees and interpret them as warning signals. Soon the controlled management of the landscape becomes apparent as I learn these symbols are a sign language between foresters.

While out and about I become aware of other forces on the move. Something is listening to my footsteps on the land. How, I wonder, can I communicate with that deep presence? As time collapses around me, I find myself walking with generations past, present, and future. Reaching out into the air… I try to make the connection.

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Image credits - Leonora Oppenheim

1. Before They Awake - VII 

2. Before They Awake - VIII 

3. Before They Awake - IV

4. Before They Awake - VII‍II

5. Alarm Call - II

6. Alarm Call - I

7. Before They Awake - X ‍

8. Before They Awake - I

9. Before They Awake - X

10. Slipping in between - I

11. Before They Awake - V

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