“In early autumn of 2022, a once-in-a-generation flood destroyed my family home in Northern New South Wales. This book is my way of processing the loss – not just of a house, but of thirty years of memories.” Nick Prideaux is an Australian photographer based in Paris. His latest body of work, Grace Land, is a deeply personal and poetic photo series: a meditation on memory, grief, siblinghood and the lived reality of climate disaster. Now published as a book by Whooden Studios, these vignettes weave an emotional narrative centred on the bond between a brother and his sisters. The images reflect Prideaux’s signature style: delicate, mindful, imbued with a sense of stillness and illuminated by natural light. But there’s a darker side, too. Water – both its beauty and looming threat – is everywhere. Blossoming stems emerge from the constraints of a tightly-tied plastic bag. Figures float, face down in swimming pools, or embrace underneath roaring waterfalls. Elsewhere, characters are weighed down by cloth or cast in deep shadow, their eyes covered. Developed over the course of three years, Grace Land is the first book to be published as part of La Maison de la Chapelle’s artist residency programme. At a time when the impacts of extreme weather events are being felt worldwide, this is a relevant and moving body of work. It is at once personal and universal – reflecting the anxieties of our current moment, whilst navigating immense loss and finding meaning in the aftermath. Grace Land is available now. whoodenstudios.com | nickprideaux.com
Words: Eleanor Sutherland
Image Credits: Photography: Nick Prideaux @prideaux; Siblings: Suzaane Henry @zansuhenry, Garance Lepetit-Simon @garancetempete, Gaetan Vermeulen @gaetan_vermeulen; Wardrobe & Styling: Jessica Ruscoe @jessica_ruscoe; Book Design: Test Kitchen @testkitchen.cc; Produced by: Garen Barsegian @garen_, Kim Buisson @kimandreabuisson; Residency: La Maison de la Chapelle @lamaisondelachapelle; Published by: Whooden/Studios @whoodenstudios.
