247 - Ed Sykes

Ed Sykes is a photographer and visual artist based in London.

Ed’s practice focuses on landscape and changes to the environment as a result of natural processes and human activity. This approach is in conjunction with a re-working of photographic materials and a disruption of traditional photographic production. The processes and effects of climate change are often replicated during the image making process itself. The series 1000 Degrees used a blow torch to melt photographic negatives at a heat similar to the furnaces that propelled the Industrial Revolution. The work Hanging By A Thread pushed this same notion to the picture frames which were sourced secondhand and then the wooden surrounds were charred in a similar way to the subject matter of wildfires. Other approaches have involved sanding and abrasion echoing the effects of coastal erosion and also the use of soluble paper, the dissolution of an image in water, mimicking flood damage.

Ed was the recipient of an Arts Council grant for the project Eco Matters and Sustainable Processes. This saw Ed travel along Britain’s east coast and to some of Europe’s fastest eroding coastlines, embedding a new creative approach to climate change, environment and the anthropocene. In 2021 he was nominated for Prix Pictet Award with1000 Degrees, a response to the historical, industrial exploitation of natural resources in UK.

In episode 247, Ed discusses, among other things:

• Early days on The Independent
• Going to Somalia for ‘Operation Restore Hope’ and being disillusioned by it
• Moving towards portraiture for magazines…
• …and fashion
• Having to take a day job and the feelings that brings up
• Resetting, getting a 4x5 and doing it ‘without compromise’.
• Environmental themes and concerns
• Darkroom practice
• His Arts Council grant to pursue the project Eco Matters and Sustainable Processes
• Using plant-based developer and Agfa Record Rapid paper for the project Rock
• Accepting and embracing mistakes as part of the creative process

Referenced:

• Brian Harris
• Kalpesh Lathigra
• James Nachtwhey
• Paul Lowe
• Chris Steele Perkins
• Delilah Sykes
• Rodrigo Arantia

Website | Instagram

“As a photographer, you want something that drives you on. You need to find something that is close to your heart. And if you have that, you’re gonna go the distance. You’re gonna persevere, you’re gonna get up at four in the morning with the slim chance of getting one picture, because it’s important to you.”

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