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Tom Illsley- Meridian

Tom Illsley (b.1994) is a British photographer based in Brighton. He is a documentary landscape photographer predominantly working with geographical themes. Illsley graduated from the BA (Hons) Photography course at Nottingham Trent University in 2015. His final year project Meridian received the Genesis Imaging Bursary award. Meridian is an exploration of geographical centre points throughout Great Britain, using psychogeographical elements and the dérive Illsley explores these locations rigorously. This body of work culminated in Illsley's first solo exhibition at Lakeside Arts Centre in April 2016.

Meridian, as a concept, is an exploration of central geographical locations, implying free liberal methods of enquiry associated with the dérive; a term used within psychogeography to represent an individuals’ unplanned journey around an environment, typically urban. Often executed in groups of two or more, the dérives traditional goals are to study the terrain of the city whilst disconnected from everyday relations, offering a better understanding of the environments effects on an individual, combatting the predictability and boredom of daily life.

These photographs serve as a record of the journey undertaken in the area surrounding a specific geographical centre point. With minimal prior research, it is the initial experiences within the environments that heed the works unique vision. It is my eyes that guide me to the subjects, not a map nor compass.

To date, the areas of investigation are a farmer’s field in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire, a patch of Welsh grassland at the bottom of the Elan Valley, and a Scottish shooting estate on the edge of the Cairngorms. The photographs highlight the area surrounding these factual coordinates. They explore whether these seemingly insignificant locations hold a deeper context, rather than merely being subjected to centrography, the mathematical equation used to find the centre point of a chosen area of land.

Twitter: @tomillsley

Instagram: @tomillsley


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