browseCumbrian Landscapes
John Davies (Photographer)
Original Side Gallery exhibition text, 1981:
I was commissioned by the Side Gallery in 1979 to take photographs in the Northern region of England. I chose to work in the mountainous regions of Cumbria, taking photographs while on walks, climbing or descending hills. They illustrate aspects of the water/air/landscape which I found stimulating. (My perception of the landscape is one that does not separate any of these elements: they merge and become one).
I was attracted to the more isolated areas within the Lake District because I am drawn to the natural landscape that has the fewest signs of previous landscaping, i.e. farmed and afforested areas.
These pictures differ from my earlier work in that I have concentrated on a compact mountainous region. I do not normally limit myself to a particular area of the landscape.
I use the photographic process as a means of exploring the landscape and I am especially interested in the physical formations of the land and the way in which the forces of nature effect its shape. John A. Davies, December 1980