Hyreth

Dominick Tyler

The Cornish word Hyreth has no direct equivalent in English, but its meaning can be translated as something like ‘a nostalgic homesickness’ or ‘a longing to return to a place that is impossible to reach’.

Taking Hyreth as its title, this work is a fragmented coming-of-age story depicting events from my childhood and adolescence in rural Cornwall. Each image is a figurative recreation of one of these formative events made in the places they originally occurred - in and around the Lynher Valley and Bodmin Moor.

Hyreth is an autobiographical examination of a landscape; an investigation into what we might mean when we say we come from a place; and an exploration of what happens when we go back.

Artist biography

Dominick grew up in rural Cornwall and moved to London to study philosophy at UCL. His photography career started in student media and led to freelance work for national newspapers. Since then he has built up a long list of editorial, commercial and NGO clients.

His personal work frequently explores the relationships between people and their environment, often focusing on the experiences of indigenous communities around the world.

Dominick wrote and photographed Uncommon Ground, which was published by Guardian Faber in 2015. He balances commissioned work with long-term projects, collaborations and teaching at Falmouth University.

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Hyreth
Dominick Tyler

...we never did see Mr. Gumb but I decided this was because he worked at night...

...socketed into the earth like fluff in a belly-button...

...night after night they came to snatch me away...

...the unsettling magnetism of exposed skin...

...every time I passed the spot I felt a stab of guilt...

...we had never seen anything like it and we couldn't look away...

...hundreds of lights urgently declaring that the moment was here...

...thankfully neither of them smelled the smoke...

...all of a sudden they seemed to be everywhere...

...clothed in embarrassment and sodden denim...

...it was impossible to sleep knowing she was out there naked...

...we were told to be scarred and ashamed but she refused to be either...

...drawing a new pain from an old wound...