Re-Visting the XR Gaze is a project that engages with Extinction Rebellion activists with the aim of providing members a role in their own photographic representation.
It focuses on creating a space where photographer and the person being photographed had equal power in the photographic transaction, through a collaborative process.
Having predominantly seen images that only engaged in tropes of arrests, confrontations or disruption, there seemed to be the need for a portrayal that offered individuals taking part in actions, a form of representative consent.
The dominant photojournalistic images appear to help create and contribute to a growing division between the public, government and group, that seemingly allows those portrayals to be used against them.
This means that the collectives’ message of seeking immediate climate justice or taking action is in danger of being lost. The predominant representation as a nuisance and a danger to everyday life means that the reasons behind their actions are being overlooked.
Whilst Alex is not a member of the group, he thought it was important to see if their message could be related differently and if members could participate in their own photographic representation.
By setting up a backdrop at protests and gently approaching or being approached by people, they were able to establish a collaborative environment between photographer and photographed.
This feels like an important time to try to engage in this type of project using this methodology, as the UK has implemented its updated Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, that aims to provide more power to clamp down on protests and protesters.
The Extinction Rebellion protests have been a major selling point for the Conservative government on implementing these new laws, using the arrests and disruption as major selling points. This project creates a space for photography to take on a participatory role within social activism and the climate crisis.
One of these images is currently on show at Brighton’s Photo Fringe Festival, as part of the Eco Exhibition examining “how photography can make a difference to the climate crisis”.
Footprints Along the River Lea, considers the relationship between the visual aesthetic and anaesthetic for moral responsiveness between art, documentary and contextualisation.
The River Lea, runs from Leagrave; on the outskirts of Luton, to the Thames at Leamouth, besides the financial district of Canary Wharf, London. It is known as one of the most polluted rivers in Britain and runs alongside Alex’s neighbourhood in East London.
Within the community there is an affinity for the river which holds a local landmark within the area known as Hackney Riviera, that lis descend upon in the Summer months for swimming.
At the end of the Summer 2020, there were reports in papers - such as The Guardian - exposing repeated incidents of excess raw sewage being illegally dumped into the River Lea that year.
It was from this moment revealing the true disregard for the human footprint on the Lea that Alex’s personal relationship with the river was truly affected. He chose to use the opportunity as a way to better understand and explore what affects humanity might be having to what traces remain.
Through this process Alex decided to try and make beautiful landscape images that on a first viewing could be considered aesthetically pleasing and a celebration of the environment.
Upon a further reflection details of man’s effect on the environment, would directly contrast this idea of natural beauty and contextualise the reality of humanity’s footprint in our surrounding environment.
The Peanut Project is an ongoing series documenting Alex’s own community, living in repurposed Victorian warehouses in East London. It focuses on people who renovated industrial factories into their homes and creative hubs but are now facing uncertainty caused by gentrification.
The pressure to survive a total transformation of their area has been in effect since London was granted the 2012 Olympics; which was held in the same neighbourhood. Since then redevelopment has dramatically altered the landscape and people have been pushed out to make way for new developments.
Local promises were made during the campaign for the Olympics, stating that the regeneration of the area would be for the direct benefit of everyone that lives there but, the developers have changed the agenda. They have monopolised on a politically vulnerable hub and transformed it into something that they can manipulate for their own gain.
Whilst gentrification and its ramifications are worldwide issues, it is the individuals affected by it that make each case unique. Documenting the community in their homes grants outsiders access to the most personal spaces in their daily lives and celebrate what they have built.
Collaboration has been a key element between Alex and the community to ensure each person can honestly express and represent themselves. This unfettered process acts as a tool to help highlight their importance and preserve their homes in the ongoing fight for survival.
