OPEN Eco: Mandy Williams, Skeletal Forest, 2018
Mandy Williams is a London-based artist working with photography, video and sound to disrupt and expand traditional representations of landscape. The beauty of a landscape isn’t that important to her, rather her photographs often show a location that has been compromised by environmental factors or by its connection to a particular narrative.
Mandy says: "I believe that photography that documents the effects of the climate crisis can inform and educate people about the dangers we are facing. My photograph, Skeletal Forest, documents the aftermath of a forest fire in western Canada. While forest fires occur annually in the area, British Columbia declared a state of emergency in 2018 as thousands of fire fighters tried to control more than 500 wildfires, an increase that was caused by climate change. The fires had sent smoke across the province, blotting out the sun and darkening skies. This photograph shows the extent of the damage in one forest."
Mandy Williams studied Art History at Warwick and Film at Goldsmith’s College. She graduated with a distinction in her Photography MA from LCC, University of the Arts London. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in the UK and overseas. In 2021 she received a Photomonitor award for her graduation project at the LCC MA Photography Final Exhibition Awards and had work purchased by The University of the Arts Art Collection. She was a recipient of a 2021 Photofusion SELECT award and her film, Chalk, was awarded Best International Short at Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival in 2022.
Photo Fringe invited artists to propose a single image to engage audiences and help us imagine a greener, fairer world. Artists were asked to respond to the question “How can photography make a difference to the climate crisis?"
The resulting outdoor exhibition of selected images by twenty artists can be found on Worthing seafront until the end of April 2023.
Sponsored by Metro Imaging Ltd with funding from Arts Council England National Lottery Project Fund and Worthing Borough Council.