Liza Dracup is a photographer and academic based in the north of England. She finds the extraordinary in the ordinary, examining the broader cultural value of the local environment and community. Her work has been nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize and the Prix Pictet.
Dracup’s series Sharpe’s Wood explores the transformational potential of photographing a northern local woodland at night. The artist used ambient light and extended exposure to capture an ‘in-between’ light. The woodland positioned on the edge of the urban and rural is not entirely black at night as light leaks in from the fixed glow of streetlights, transient traffic and cyclical moonlight. The result was a depiction of two opposites, simultaneously, light and dark, night and day, truth and illusion. The images reveal a spectrum of ‘hidden’ colours, illuminated by the nightlight. Deep indigos emerged in the shadows between April and September, an affectation of reflected moonlight on deciduous foliage.
The series was captured as the seasons changed, documenting the natural rhythms and shifts that come with the end of the year. She said: “In my research, the autumn and winter months were the most productive research time when more of our waking hours are spent in darkness. The shifting seasonal colour palate and the changes to the flora in woodland influenced my strategies. The winter snow lightens areas of the night wood, and the dominant yellow sodium streetlight contrasted with the photographically visualised aquamarine sky, a colour totally invisible to the naked eye.”
The photographs engage with the wider cultural, social and historical debates about the natural landscape of northern England. She addresses the value of the “local” from an environmental and personal perspective. In placing emphasis on the extraordinary properties of the ordinary, she reveals hidden or unseen aspects, leading to a more informed, comprehensive and enriched idea of the northern landscape and its natural history.
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
All images courtesy of Liza Dracup.
