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In the 1970s, following a successful career in photo-journalism, Paul moved to rural Derbyshire with his young family; from this point on he made only photographs that were personally relevant to him. Paul has used landscape, family, wildlife, pets and other immediate elements in his environment as the subject matter for a continuing personal odyssey.
Paul Hill is best known for his iconic book White Peak Dark Peak, published in 1990, which drew praise from across art, photography and landscape protection greats such as Hamish Fulton, Fay Godwin and Brian Redhead. Whilst it certainly represents the core of his practice: fine grained black and white shots focusing on gestures and marks in the landscape, highlighting issues such as access to land or exclusion and often following views through the seasons, this current exhibition at Derby Museum shows us a much richer palate of Paul’s work.
Starting with his photojournalism in the 1960s and ending with a recent move into colour and digital work, it follows themes rather than chronographies. It is clear that Paul’s work is a continuing odyssey but with connecting threads which link closely to where he lives and roams, to his family and a deep rooted love for, and a desire to protect the Peak. Issues such as the controversial and tragedy-riven construction of Carsington Reservoir and neo-druidical travellers’ camps on Stanton Moor have a strong prominence in his work. The images are beautiful but often enigmatic, with symbols (sometimes literally: e.g. road signs) that tell a more complex story. Other more abstract work focuses on scenes from everyday family life (often featuring his daughter Sam) but with new angles and insights. A strong series of shots features exotic Peak District animals, such as mountain hares and wallabies, and their impermanence through time and territories.
Sadly, loss also guides the final images which reflect the latter stages of his wife Angela’s unsuccessful fight against cancer. Moving again into semi-abstraction, simple, brightly coloured images of sofa surfaces and a bath mat with talcum powdered footprints – the mundane landscapes of her declining existence – speak powerfully of Paul’s way of coping (through photography) with his greatest loss. Happily, his photographic quest has continued and, although this show has strong elements of a retrospective, a further show drawing again on his archive and new work is due in Birmingham.
Original and limited edition Paul Hill prints are available from Living Art (see www.living-art.org.uk). A few signed copies of White Peak Dark Peak are also available, together with other Paul Hill books.
Personal Places runs from 6th September - 26th October 2008 at Derby Museum and Gallery. |
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