IR | COLLECTIVE 454
22-25 FEB 2024 | 12-6PM | THE OLD BREWERY SPACE | FREE
IR
IR is a single project born out of the work of three photographers – Heiko Prigge, JP Black and Nicholas Holt.
The project looks at how our view of the environment has been altered by different aspects of the industrial revolution, up until the present day.
It begins in the slate mines of North Wales, where Nicholas Holt reflects on the irreversible destruction caused by the surge in demand for a valuable natural resource in the 19th century.
The photographers then turn to how scientific progress – in this case the development of photography itself – has been used to measure environmental decline. Heiko Prigge travelled to Switzerland to re-photograph panoramas of glaciers taken in the first half of the 20th century.
The project goes on to explore the effects of industry on the environment and society. Prigge adapts archival surveillance photographs made in heavily-polluting industrial plants in the former East Germany. The authorities at the time were concerned about political resistance arising from greater awareness of the environmental damage being done.
The final view depicts something that many people use every day. JP Black photographs an area of mountainous forest in Switzerland that has been left to “re-wild” for the past 16 years. The purpose is to create carbon offsets – now used in everything from flight tickets to toothpaste.
Heiko Prigge (b.1970 in Hamburg/ Germany) is a photographer currently based in London. He studied Biology, before he embarked in a career as a camera assistant on short movies. He moved to London in 1997 where he assisted a number of influential photographers. In 2022 he received his Masters in Photojournalism and Photo Documentary at the London College of Communication/ University of the Arts. His work has been shown both in festivals and in public and private foundations. He is a co-founder of C454, an international collective focused on environmental and societal issues.
JP Black (Born 1979 in Belfast) is a journalist and photographer based in Switzerland. He started out photographing and writing on human rights and political topics in the Middle East before moving into financial journalism during the crisis of 2008. He spent more than a decade covering finance and economics in Europe and Asia before returning to photography in 2020. He’s a graduate of the London College of Communication (MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography) and a co-founder of C454, an international collective focused on environmental and societal issues.
Nicholas Holt is a photographer based in the Peak District. He holds an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from the University of Arts London. His photography has been recognised by the Sony World Photography Awards, The Royal Photographic Society and Arles Open Walls. He is a contributor to Geographical Magazine, Suitcase Magazine, JRNY Magazine. He is a co-founder of C454, an international collective focused on environmental and societal issues.