Art, Society, Nature Takeover—David Molloy

David works with landscape and narrative, using photography for its time-based qualities. Recently, this has meant concentrating on environmental concerns. He describes his practice as somewhere between making aesthetic imagery and collecting data. He cites the BBC’s Shipping Forecast as inspiration. “It’s informative, offering a longstanding record of climatic changes, but it also possesses an unplanned atmospheric beauty.”

The project was shot on a Hasselblad 503cx, with an 80mm Zeiss lens. A camera that I recently inherited from my Father. I believe it is similar to the one used for the 1969 moon landings.

A highlight of making this work was to walk the entire river in one trip. It is possible to travel from Sandwich to Minnis bay, encountering very little tarmac. I had no idea how long it would take, but I set off with my dog, Rusty, to discover new visions of the landscape. Towards the end, we struggled to follow the water’s path as the channel narrowed, travelling under roads and through bushes. It was only when I sat to take a breather that I realised. I could have stood anywhere within several miles of the reeded expanse. It didn’t matter. It would have all been under the sea at one time, and it may again soon.

I never knew how and why Thanet ceased to be an island. I just accepted it. But once you begin to look, the evidence is everywhere.

My desk space is on an old sailing boat, moored in Sandwich. So, you can see how I came to this project. I spent a lot of time onboard through the winter months, trying to stay warm by the fire and making this work. I would often see the turquoise blue of a kingfisher flashing past the window. I would feel the rise and fall of the tide. Some days the water crept over riverbanks, and I lost my exit.