The Story of the landscape

Social history has affected society’s environments and the landscapes we live in. Exploring the effect this has had on the present individual has inspired Catherine through her creative photographic work. The exploration of the multi layered history becomes apparent in her work, as she discovers different aspects of a subject, considering the environment itself, its history and the people who inhabit the space in its past and present. Catherine’s work currently examines the history of the Northern British Landscape, concentrating on the remains and scars humans have left behind on these environments. This often inspires the viewer to question the effect this has had through the present experience of the land. The photographs contain a context and narrative with the use of literature to visually present the story of the landscape. The main inspiration for the body of work has been ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte and the landscape that the story has been based upon. Other inspirations have also been the ‘Rings of Saturn’ by W. G Sebald and ‘Remains of Elmet’ by Ted Hughes & Fay Godwin. The work she exhibits uses images within an existing piece of literature, ‘Yorkshire Tour’ by Pontefract, Ella & Marie Hartley. Catherine has allowed her photographs to become an extension of the authors work. She has portrayed this by illustrating key quotes in the book to match with her photographs and also allows the viewer to focus on the history, time and mortality of the Yorkshire landscape. The ghosts of the people before us fragment and disrupt our engagement within the present world; therefore this project has become a discovery of the diverse layers of hidden memories that have been left behind by previousmen.