The camera, body, light, silver and sound come together to explore how the intimacy of a practice might spark transition.

My solo exhibition Glimmer, presented at Stills Centre for Photography in Edinburgh in 2024, responds to the paralysis and disillusionment associated with living through environmental, economic and social crisis. Using the photographic image as an anchor—a silver thread of light—the work searches for spaces of personal refuge, resilience and magical realism, offering a glimmer of possibility amid uncertainty.

Foraging, recording and embedding myself within surrounding landscapes are central to my process. During the Stills and Verzasca Foto Residency in Switzerland, I became captivated by the rocks shimmering beneath the Verzasca River. Immersed in this landscape, I explored the proximity between bodies of water, stone, camera and self.

The analogue negatives and prints were made using light, time, silver, river water and plant-based developers brewed from locally foraged wild thyme, yarrow, berries, heather and seaweed. I approach the darkroom as a space of ritual, alchemy and transition, allowing the environment to participate in making the image. Plant matter scratches the emulsion, river debris leaves residue on the negatives, and images bleed to the edges of the paper.

Through photography, moving image, sound and light, Glimmer considers how intimate, embodied acts of making might generate momentum, connection and hope.

Glimmer was supported by Creative Scotland, the Embassy of Switzerland in the UK and the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. The residency was presented by Stills and Verzasca Foto with support from the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. Stills is supported by Creative Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council, Project Echo, MPB and the William Grant Foundation.