On Landscape Project
On Landscape Project, the brain child of photographers Minna Kantonen, Dafna Talmor and Emma Wieslander, seeks to instigate discussions and debates around the representation of landscapes. With two group exhibitions already under their belt in London and Rome, the collective’s most recent project On Landscape #3 took place at the picturesque Lower Hewood Farm in Dorset. Featuring work from all three photographers, alongside a library of artist publications, the exhibition also showcases unseen imagery from the archive of the late James Ravilious, a local photographer whose work focused on rural farming and country life. We caught up with the collective at their closing event to find out a bit more about On Landscape #3, and how it has developed since it’s inception.
In-conversation with Robin Ravilious & On Landscape Project chaired by Alexa de Ferranti
Firstly, congratulations on your recent exhibition! Could you tell us a little bit about how On Landscape Project was conceived and what your key themes and aims are?
Thank you! On Landscape Project came about as a result of a series of conversations between the three of us - we were all interested in raising questions around landscape and looking for a platform to investigate it further. On Landscape Project allows us to extend our research into the space of an exhibition, through live discussions, collaborations and online. We are able to widen discussion around representations of landscapes by including guest artists, book artists and travelling the show to different locations. After curating On Landscape #1, our first show at Yinka Shonibare’s Guest Projects in 2014 in London (funded by Arts Council England), we had a model for further OLP editions. Organised in collaboration with host venue Lower Hewood Farm’s director Alexa de Ferranti and programmed to coincide with Dorset Art Weeks, On Landscape #3 is the third edition of our project.
James Ravilious (1939 - 1999), Grubbin-out an Orchard, Hele, near Exeter, Devon, 1989 (Prints courtesy of Common Ground)
On Landscape #3 features work from the late James Ravilious. How did the collaboration with James’s wife Robin Ravilious come about, and what do you think this brings to the project?
The inclusion of a guest artist is an intrinsic element of our project as it shifts and expands the parameters of the exhibition framework every time the show travels. The genre of landscape is incredibly loaded and brings with it many preconceived notions and traditions that we are interested in addressing and alluding to. The guest artist’s work allows us to re-frame our own work and enables us to see it and present it in different ways in relation to these loaded histories. We were introduced to James Ravilious’ work and Common Ground (an arts and environmental charity based in Dorset) by Alexa de Ferranti, the director of Lower Hewood Farm. She felt including his work, which primarily dealt with rural farming life in the local area, could provide an interesting contrast to our work. After doing some research and looking further into his work, we all agreed it would work really well in the context of On Landscape #3 and were excited by the prospect of working with Ravilious’ archive managed by Common Ground.
Up until that point, we had only worked with contemporary artists so working with an archive presented an exciting challenge, one that raised different questions and incredibly relevant discussions to our project. The work on show included colour slides from the Save the Orchards campaign, commissioned by Common Ground in the late 80s, which had never been shown before, as Ravilious was primarily known and revered for his B&W photographs. We curated a selection of the original slides and scanned and reproduced them in order to show them as a slide projection in one of the outbuildings.
Robin Ravilious, James Ravilious’ widow came into the picture at a later stage of the project, after we’d curated the selection of images we included in the exhibition. Alexa de Ferranti had gotten in touch with her while we were working on the show as we all agreed it would be great to invite her to present some of Ravilious’ work and join us for an in-conversation on the last weekend of the exhibition. This provided an ideal opportunity to reflect on the contrast between our work, which engages with landscape from a more universal and contemporary position and his work, which stems from a documentary tradition focusing on a particular location.
From the beginning, we set out to engage in these types of discussions, which widen our understanding of representations of landscape in a contemporary context. These opportunities are invaluable as they keep us from being complacent and are constantly challenging our own preconceptions, pushing our work forward individually and collectively.
Emma Wieslander. Fore, 2016. Site-specific installation. Glass sheets, spraypaint
Your library of artist publications forms a central part to your exhibition, and it’s fascinating to see the inventive ways in which people represent landscapes within their work. How do you source these books and how do you decide which ones get showcased?
The On Landscape Project artist books were sourced via two open calls, selected by OLP in collaboration with Bruno Ceschel (Self-Publish, Be Happy Founder), Miranda Gavin (Hotshoe Online Editor) for the first London edition and with an Italian panel of judges Gianpaolo Arena (Landscape Stories), Niccolo Fano (Matèria Director) and Chiara Capodici & Fiorenza Pinna (3/3) for the second edition of On Landscape Project.
For each book call we received about 120 books from a wide range of countries including submissions from Canada, USA, Chile, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, China, Singapore, Japan, Israel, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Estonia and the UK. The spread and scope of publications were what we were aiming for - it was quite a challenge to narrow down our selection with the panel. The book call expands the exhibition and aims to provide an overview of current projects that examine landscape. We were particularly interested in sourcing self published or short run publications inviting both established and emerging photographers to submit to our call. The book call feeds our library of publications (archived on our website) and also allows us to meet fellow practitioners of diverse backgrounds and disciplines interested in similar themes.
On Landscape #3 included the On Landscape Project library sourced and selected through both book calls, consisting of 70 limited edition and self published books. The OLP library was displayed alongside a selection of Little Toller publications (Common Ground’s publishing branch) and Lower Hewood Farm’s permanent in-house Survival Library by Standart Thinking. A full list of the final selection can be found on our website.
Work by James Ravilious + On Landscape Project library
What do you think are the key things that you’ve learnt throughout working On Landscape #3?
Every time we curate a new edition we have worked collaboratively with varied types of venues across different locations, from the launch of On Landscape #1 at Yinka Shonibare’s Guest Projects (London 2014) to On Landscape #2 at Matèria Gallery (Rome 2015) followed by an edited version at Castelnuovo Fotografia Festival (2015). The latest edition at Lower Hewood Farm, in a range of buildings and surrounding land, has allowed us to display our work in conjunction with the everyday running of the farm and engage with its locality.
The fact we were in-residence at Lower Hewood Farm throughout the exhibition was key as it allowed us to engage in conversation directly with visitors, as well as people working on the farm. It also allowed us to conduct research, develop ideas for new work and lead free weekly events in collaboration with the farm. The context of farming and the politics of land and agriculture raised fascinating questions and instigated conversations which we are hoping to discuss further in a London event / talk later this year.
One of the key things we learned came about from working with Common Ground and the archive of James Ravilious (1939 – 1999). OLP had never worked with an archive previously so we were highly aware of the responsibility that comes with it, of the nuances of re-contextualising, selecting and editing an artists’ work who is not around to speak for themselves.
Lastly, the residency enabled us to spend a concentrated period of time together to start planning the next stage of the project and reflect on what we have achieved so far with the project.
Lower Hewood Farm Survival Library by Standart Thinking
Your exhibition is set in a beautiful location, and is very different to the urban locations used for your first 2 exhibitions. Was it a conscious decision to move to a more rural setting, and how did you find Lower Hewood Farm?
As mentioned previously, travelling the show to different locations, venues and collaborating with new people widens the scope of our research and is key to developing the project further. The director of Lower Hewood Farm, Alexa de Ferranti visited On Landscape #1 at Yinka Shonibare’s Guest Projects (London 2014), and approached us at the time regarding a collaboration in the upcoming biannual Dorset Art Weeks. We jumped at the opportunity as we were keen to explore how our project would be shaped, received and interpreted in a rural context. It also provided the opportunity to explore possibilities of producing site specific work and highlight the contrast between the urban and rural, both heavily manipulated and man made landscapes.
Minna Kantonen. All images from the Urban Vistas series
You seem to enjoy engaging in discussion with your guests, how do you think this ‘two-way’ element to your project enhances it?
We thoroughly enjoyed the conversations and debates undertaken throughout the residency and see these as an intrinsic element of our project as OLP aims to instigate discussions around representations of landscape in its widest sense, enabling us to expand our research individually as well as collectively.
How do you think you’ve developed your ideas and ways of working since your first exhibition in London in 2014?
We have collaborated with a range of venues and artists that so far include Minna Pöllänen (OL#1 at Guest Projects), Marco Strappato (OL#2 at ) and James Ravilious’ archive (OL#3 at Lower Hewood Farm) and have worked with guest speakers including Martin Barnes, Lucy Soutter, Sue Steward, Miranda Gavin, Christiane Monarchi and Robin Ravilious and have commissioned texts by Lucy Soutter and Francesca Orsi. These collaborations have brought about diverse experiences that have enriched our practices as artist-curators immensely as each edition has brought something new to the project via the book calls, guest artists, venue directors and talks, all of which have been recorded and documented on our OLP website. We will soon be updating our website to include documentation of the exhibition, events and the recording of the in-conversation for anyone who missed it.
Dafna Talmor. All images from the Constructed Landscapes series
So what’s next for On Landscape Project?
We are in the process of organising a panel discussion chaired by Olga Smith and Christiane Monarchi at a London venue later this autumn (tbc) where we will be able to reflect on the debates that arose from the exhibition and residency at Lower Hewood Farm. We are also aiming to travel the exhibition further and curate future editions. More information on this will follow soon so keep an eye on our website and/or subscribe to our newsletter.
On Landscape Project: www.onlandscapeproject.co.uk
Lower Hewood Farm: www.lowerhewoodfarm.org
Minna Kantonen: www.minnakantonen.co.uk
Dafna Talmor: www.dafnatalmor.co.uk
Emma Wieslander: www.emmawieslander.com
Written by Emily Faulder for #PHOTOGRAPHY Magazine
