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Publication
Losing a landscape: havant thicket reservoir
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Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Ancient woodland and natural habitats in the United Kingdom are declining despite
the urgent need to tackle critical biodiversity loss and the climate crisis. This project
focuses on the current construction of the Havant Thicket Reservoir, a 8.7 billion litre
storage reservoir spanning 160 hectares just north of Portsmouth on the south coast. The
site contains rare grasslands and ancient woodlands and is home to rare species of bats,
newts and skylarks.
Before construction started, Frankie Knight explored the landscape and was
shocked by the natural beauty that was going to be destroyed. She responded by
connecting with her local community, interviewing and photographing 11 members of the
Stop the Chop campaign group (now known as Havant Thicket for Nature). Further audio
recordings and photographs captured the grassland, the avenue of ancient oaks, and
waterways that run through the marsh, all of which have now been lost.
The photographs were taken on medium format film, developed using seaweed
collected locally and fixed with saltwater, demonstrating alternative ways of working using
non-toxic, environmentally conscious, and sustainable approaches. The resulting images
explore the aesthetics of imperfection, human nature and allow space for imagination. The
name of each image relates to location using What3words app so that a record can be kept
of what will be soon underwater.
By giving a voice to the local people that use the space rather than the developers
and council leaders that make the decisions, the project allows a more democratic and
truthful response to the proposed development. Although a political issue, the work
steers the conversation to the emotional and spiritual elements to allow for deeper
engagement and reflection whilst exploring the artist’s role in fighting the destruction of
natural habitats.
All images in the series and the audio piece can be accessed at:
https://frankieknight.photography/ .
Description
Keywords
Fotografia Photography . Faculdade de Artes e Humanidades
Citation
Frankie Knight (2023), “Losing a Landscape: Havant Thicket Reservoir”, TRANSLOCAL. Culturas Contemporâneas Locais e Urbanas, n.º 7 - Paisagens Vulneráveis, Paisagens Resilientes | Vulnerable Landscapes, Resilient Landscapes, Funchal: UMa-CIERL/CMF/IA. 10.34640/universidademadeira2023knight
Publisher
UMa-CIERL/CMF/IA