OPEN Eco: Bill Brooks, The Wrath of Eleanor, Storm Eleanor, Newhaven Harbour, 2018
Bill Brooks is a photographer and printmaker. His practice looks at the landscape; in particular how that landscape has been shaped by humans in the past - and how it impacts those who occupy the landscape today.
Bill says: "Photography has the capacity to represent both the problems of climate change and possible means of its mitigation. My approach with this photograph is to invoke the idea of the "sublime" to engage my viewers in contemplating the destructive force of oceanic storms which threaten the world's coastal communities. Whilst storms have always been a feature of our maritime climate, anthropogenic climate change is now increasing both their severity and frequency. My hope is that this photograph reminds my viewing audience that this is both a global - and a local - problem; one that demands our urgent action."
Whilst I have been interested in photography for all my adult life, during my working career I had little opportunity to pursue this beyond a hobby level. Following my retirement in 2014 I decided to spend more time developing my photographic practice and in 2021 received my MA (Distinction) in Photography from the University of Brighton. I currently live in Felpham (West Sussex).
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.