Evolver Prize 2023

‘REGIONS OF LIGHT’

18 May - 2 July

Jem Southam is a photographer, traditional in approach and in his use of equipment, until recently. For forty years he has been lugging a large format camera and a heavy tripod across the fields in search of a subject. Once identified, he has returned repeatedly to the same spot, photographing it in different lights at different times of day and in different environmental conditions. Southam is a storyteller, weaving together a complex narrative of human intervention, the response of the landscape and his own interpretation of the changes he observes.

He photographs the same place over a number of years. Winter light, winter trees are his preference and he frequently returned after sitting for an hour or more with just one photograph. He waits for the optimum conditions, “atmosphere, light and colour range have to be right, otherwise there is no point”.

Address: Hestercombe Gallery, Hestercombe Gardens, CHIDDEN FITZPAINE, Taunton, TA2 8LG

Phone: 01823 413923

Website: www.hestercombe.com