This month UAL Extended Diploma in Photography Lecturer Richard Allaway will present his PHD research in a national arts conference in Romania. Entitled Nature-Arts Interconnections, the conference aims to look at the multiplicity of ways in which artists involve nature in their artistic processes and their works:

‘Nature has always been in the attention of artists, offering subjects for portrayal at the time when arts were mainly representational, providing a model for creation, being a source of inspiration, or standing as a value to be defended and protected against global threats such as pollution or global warming. Deeply admired or thoroughly investigated, in the same time appropriated and transfigured in the act of creation, nature is today as relevant as always for visual arts.’

Hosted by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Timișoara in Romania, the conference will welcome artist researchers from different countries including Belgium, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Hungry and Romania.

Speaking on his work Richard said, ‘My presentation forms part of my PhD research, in which I am working under the thesis title, ‘Experiences of Remoteness; How to [re]experience intimacy… The aim of the research is to acknowledge the need for the individual to step out of the global entanglement and to experience natural phenomena [or environmental aesthetics] as a positive and intimate re-encounter. I look to discover acts of practice that promote intimacy and connection with wilderness.’

Richard’s creative practice centres around walking and wild camping in rural locations such as the North Yorkshire Moors, Galloway Forest and Esk Dale Muir Forest.  During these research trips he is able to create a space and platform to approach documentation which takes the form of journaling, image capture and sound recording to evidence a sense of ‘place’ within these environments. Stating ‘In walking, I find a rhythm that allows me to think-through the relationship between human and the natural environment.’

You can see more of Richard’s work on his website ritchardallaway.com

You can find our more about UAL Extended Diploma in Photography here.