Fuertaventura A Sideways Glance
Whilst Fuerteventura is a tourist destination it has so far managed to avoid the overdevelopment seen on the other Canary islands. Developments are more low key. This and the still visible imprints left by its inhabitants and by its volcanic history is what attracted me to photographing the island over several visits.
This set of work is split into two galleries. ‘Fuerteventura - Imprints’ & ‘Fuerteventura A Sideways Glance’
Project Narrative : See below after images
Further information
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The first set of images, ‘Fuerteventura - Imprints’ looks at some of the imprints left due to the geological and human history of the island. The second, is this gallery, ‘Fuerteventura A Sideways Glance’, which consists of observations of the transient nature of those who visit the island, some of whom stay and live there. The images are of what I find intriguing and often amusing, and which look to the less obvious aspects of the island.
I take photographs, to hold on to the ephemeral, capture chance, take an image of something that might disappear, or as evidence of things transient. I often focus on details which sometimes may appear banal or whimsical, but which tell a story, or may be part of a greater narrative linking both time and space. These inanimate objects, or arrangements of objects, might be fleeting or outlive us and subsequently remain undisturbed.
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This work further links to other sets of images of mine which look at other volcanic island, Iceland and New Zealand. The volcanoes of Fuerteventura are old and considered extinct with the last eruption being 4 - 5000 years ago, whereas those of Iceland are very much dormant/active. There was a recent Icelandic eruption of Fagradalsfjall in August 2022, and a huge eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in April 2010 which was so far reaching that many flights within Europe were cancelled following it. Whilst both islands’ geological origins are volcanic there are evident current differences; the development of the landscape; the subsequent human adaptation to the landscape; the climatic conditions; the lighting; amongst others. I was particularly interested in the distinctiveness of each and attempt to reflect my differing experience on each, in the images presented both in this work and in that of Iceland.