Tide To An Island is an ongoing photo project documenting contemporary rural lives on the Isle of Wight, England’s largest offshore Island and the place I was born and raised.
The project began when I moved back home to the Isle of Wight for a year in 2016 whilst commuting weekly to London for work. It was a time where I was reassessing my relationship to the Island both emotionally and physically.
I wanted to explore the realities of an island community away from the cliches; gathering the stories of those closest to the landscape that has such a hold over many Islanders as a way to get an authentic snapshot of what life is like.
The project evolved over time into gathering stories of Islanders working, forming and shaping the land. From local monks supporting community allotment schemes, burgeoning market gardens, cross-island beekeeping, artisan cheese making, the lives of foragers, all drawn in varying degrees to the land. It’s a chance to share and preserve the story of those working and earning a living from the land at a time when our relationship to it is growing ever more precarious. At its core it’s celebration and a love letter to an Island that I will always call home.