Paul Nicol - Photography

‘The Traveller’, explores the concept of a fictional traveller from the future who has returned to the current time to observe, document and learn from humanity at this time when we are on the cusp of change regarding how we treat the planet.

Overview

The Traveller

The images selected form part of a photography story called ‘The Traveller’, which explores the concept of a fictional traveller from the future who has returned to the current timeline of the early 21st century to observe, document and learn from humanity at this time when we are on the cusp of change regarding how we treat the planet.

The fictional traveller’s observations include relevant issues to climate change such as nature, pollution, fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.

Shot on black & white film with a vintage camera, several of the final images used traditional darkroom developing and printing methods to creatively enhance the surreal quality of the theme. Other images were scanned from the negatives and post produced digitally to experiment with emulating vintage photos from a bygone era.

Aims & Outcomes

The project aims to engage the audience subtly using an artistic mix of fiction and reality to draw the viewer in, promoting debate, dialogue and awareness of the issues ultimately leading to positive change. The project is designed to appeal to an audience ranging from local people to the global community, all directly affected by climate change and able to relate to these issues. It promotes inclusion, representing humanity from a collective perspective, one that embraces compassion and reaches out to people from all walks of life.

The future aim of the project is to share the work through exhibition and online with key emphasis on partnering with causes relating to the awareness of climate change.

Gallery

Black and white photograph of person in space helmet looking at a wind turbine

Black and white photograph of person in space helmet

black and white photograph of person in space helmet at a petrol station

Black and white photograph of person looking through visor of space helmet wearing a t-shirt that reads 'into the unknown'

Black and white photograph of person in space helmet on a beach looking at discarded rubbish

Black and white photograph of person in space helmet in a field

Black and white photograph of person in space helmet sitting

Student statement

This was in essence quite a playful project for me to undertake of self-discovery with the course giving me the creative platform and space to experiment with themes that I found interesting and wanted to investigate further. Mentoring from my tutors helped give me the framework, inspiration, and discipline to create a body of work that developed throughout the course providing me with a much broader understanding of photography as an art form.

My favourite part of the project relates to the time spent within the darkroom environment here at Gray’s and the invaluable support I received regarding learning and experimenting with different techniques.

Instagram - @pauleynic