Per Ardua
To strive through hardship, difficulties, always trying to get somewhere else, to see something new and achieve new experiences. Whether that is to get to the top, to photograph the new or to remain airborne, we are constantly trying to push the limit of human experience and endurance. It is a struggle, yet it is one that we relish. It is the light on the horizon that we aim towards, which could ultimately be supposed to represent Heaven. We know that at the end we can take satisfaction in having pushed ourselves beyond our usual capabilities and will be rewarded accordingly.
The work documents sites in the Peak District where aeroplanes crashed, during or around the time of the Second World War. Nearly all were caused by bad weather and poor visibility.
The process of striving is important to this work as it combines the experiences of the hill-walker, the photographer and the subject matter, bridging the gap between past and present. We see the difficulties that each must strive to overcome, in the form of the natural elements. The weather and the terrain must both be fought against to achieve the target we set ourselves, and it is the appreciation of this drive; the desire to test ourselves that I have aimed to capture.
June 2006