TITLE: The Past is Present

Having originally trained as an archaeologist, I’ve always felt a strong connection with the past. This is something I still feel particularly keenly when visiting historical or archaeological sites. When photographing these places I want to convey a feeling of “presence“ - something that is there and, yet, at the same time, isn’t quite visible. It’s a subconscious feeling perhaps, something that lingers in the stones and the landscape, not visible to the eye but yet somehow imprinted upon the primitive part of the brain. I want the viewer to be unsettled by this, to be aware of something there that they can’t quite see or comprehend.

This series of photographs was taken on a visit, in December 2021, to Cornwall, a region famous for its mining heritage stretching back thousands of years. The first day I visited these abandoned mines the sun was shining, the sea was calm and the walls and chimneys shone in the light. When I visited again two days later, a thick sea fog had enveloped the land and I could hardly see anything. The ruined engine houses and chimneys loomed ominously, barely visible in some cases, but they still made their presence unmistakably known. It felt like the long-dead miners - many of who died here in various disasters- were still present but lost to the eye in the mist and fog. It was a wonderful, ethereal experience.

AUTHOR: Feldore McHugh (United Kingdom)

Software developer, former archaeologist, restless traveller, black & white photographer.