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SOUTH WEST GRADUATE PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE 2025

SOUTH WEST GRADUATE

PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE 2025

edited by Matthew Pontin cover image © Emrys Thurgood publishing@fotonow.org www.fotonow.org with thanks to Matt Martin, Carole Evans, Angus Fraser, Emma Booth, Molly Budd and all at Fotonow CIC

ISBN: 978-1-908678-37-9

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright owners.

Alice Poyzer

Daisy Davis

Dan Bowhay

Ellie Applegate

Emrys Thurgood

Max Pattenden

Tess Mounsey

Woody New

Alice Poyzer

Other Joys

Other Joys is an ongoing body of work that highlights my special interests, whilst also discussing the difficulties I face as an autistic woman. The process of making these photographs provides me with a safe space to unmask – something that I cannot always access in day to day life.

What was once a fear of being deemed different has now become a celebration of self-acceptance and understanding. Throughout the work there are visual comments on my own autistic traits, such as my need for sensory comfort and how easy it is for me to be overwhelmed. The self-portraits featured, all different in tonality, expression and mood, mirror how I feel in real life; forever moulding myself to fit in with others, whilst the repetition of certain symbols suggests my need for consistent routine.

Daisy Davis

The Cornish Ghost

Over 640,000 tonnes of ghost fishing gear enters the ocean annually. Ghost gear refers to fishing equipment that has been lost, abandoned or discarded. This includes synthetic materials such as nets, ropes and traps. Commonly made from plastic, these materials do not biodegrade. Instead, they continue to entangle marine life and pollute habitats long after their initial use. Ghost gear can be found washed up on shores all over the world, forming a haunting reminder of the human impact on marine environments.

The Cornish Ghost is a photographic series that focuses on the presence of ghost gear in Cornwall. It is an exploration into the relationship between the environment and ghost gear. The photographs investigate how these materials have become deeply rooted in nature and reveal how they are evolving into a lasting feature of coastal habitats. By using an observational lens, The Cornish Ghost takes a new perspective on the issue, revealing in close up, the subtle connections that are developing between man-made and natural materials.

www.daisydavis.co.uk

Dan Bowhay

Between These Times

What freedoms and independence does the disabled concessionary bus pass truly afford people with disabilities? Dan Bowhay spent 10 days, 19 hours, 33 minutes, and 15 seconds travelling the length of England, from Land’s End to the Scottish Border near Berwick-upon-Tweed, on local buses and within the restrictions of a disabled bus pass.

The work explores the issues faced by disabled travellers - the limits of the disabled concessionary bus pass, and the generally poor levels of bus services found across England. The concessionary pass is intended to provide disabled travellers with the same freedom and independence as able-bodied people, but it falls short of this in many ways. Most controversially, the pass can only be used during off-peak times, a heavily criticised policy that “implies disabled people do not hold a place in the world of work, education settings, or in wider social activities, and dismisses their right to equal opportunities” (Whizz Kidz, 2023). With bus services constantly being cut, and with trains and coaches being excluded from the pass, fewer and fewer locations year-on-year actually remain accessible to travellers reliant on the pass.

Bowhay’s photographs are a subversion of the work of classic road trip photographers, with him photographing primarily from the buses, his means of transportation, and not at the destinations themselves. These photographs differ substantially from the classic images of small English villages and picturesque natural landscapes that we are accustomed to seeing on tours of the country, and instead reflect a more realistic vision of England, seen through the scratches, dirt, and condensation on the windows of an ever-dwindling public transportation network.

Ellie Applegate

Mother Wingflap

Mother Wingflap is an ongoing photographic exploration and embodiment of my mum, Sara. The work is a collaborative experimentation which celebrates the fierce, protective love of a single mother. Exploring the profound roles that she plays and highlighting the importance that she has held to the little eyes that have watched her. Throughout, a childhood tale is told, created and narrated by my mum, which follows a mother hens’ determination and protective nature to prevent her chicks from harm. I admire the woman that I follow and pay homage to a home filled with fictional worlds, characters and play.

I find myself circling back to an image of my mother at 21, the age that I am now. I reflect on the woman I am becoming and the strength I hope to carry forward, shaped by the unwavering love I’ve received.

Emrys Thurgood

The Stars That Forgot the Sky

The Stars That Forgot the Sky follows a boy and his two imaginary, star-headed friends through a world of the boy’s imagination. This project explores the experiences of derealisation and genderqueerness, considering how they overlap to create a world where body and mind become unreal.

In front of a dissociative lens, the story’s environments become empty. Amidst unreality, however, is a blank background from which the boy may use their imagination to reconstruct their experience from scratch. They choose the stars as their companions. Whilst in the sky, a relationship with them is an intangible one, making them fit for a character existing just apart from the world around them.

www.emrysthurgood.com

Max Pattenden

Men May Come and Men May Go, But I Go On Forever

Set within the dramatic climate of a temperate rainforest, Men May Come and Men May Go, But I Go On Forever is an intimate exploration of rural life; through an interest in the landscapes of the China Clay mining industry, alongside ongoing collaborations with the local villages and residents, Pattenden traverses an environment rich with history and heritage. Through imagery of wild horses, colossal china clay peaks, desolate train lines and ever present fog, the series details a place that remains in time, surveying a delicate yet complex relationship between people, place and history. The reclusion of this place alongside its coexistence with the natural world rejects a modern desire for pace, and embraces a slower way of living.

Photographed within a community that was once close to self-sufficiency, the pictures are fuelled by a celebration of this isolation, alongside an investigation into the symbiotic nature of the China Clay industry and the villages that it is built upon. Enriched with countless stories and anecdotes, Pattenden worked alongside many village residents to create a series informed by personal histories of living within the Moor; a setting that juxtaposes otherworldly results from years of material extraction against a picturesque natural backdrop. Men May Come and Men May Go, But I Go On Forever observes a fascinating ecosystem operating within the Devon landscape, acting both as a reminder of the past and a study of the present.

Tess Mounsey

Gatherers

As my practice as an artist and photographer has grown, I have found an ever increasing desire to explore and create work that remains in the physical realm. Gatherers epitomises this.

Early in 2024, I was gifted Discovering the Folklore of Plants (1980) by Margaret Baker. A beautiful little book that explores an alphabet of plants and their uses within British culture, it inspired me to continue with my nature based practice that investigates a human interaction with the natural world. I set out, with my 35mm film camera and the help of this book, to find and photograph an array of featured plants, hoping to record and preserve this appreciation for the world around me. As my collection of images grew, it became clear to me that it wasn’t enough to just have these photographs; they were precious, a rare recognition of a vast history of nature’s role in our communities.

I decided to hand make a series of boxes, giving my time to provide these images the home they deserve. In an increasingly digital art world, it felt crucial that each box was tangible, intimate, and reflected time - time taken to find, photograph, and collect each plant. Gatherers - a series of handmade boxes, each containing a homage to the plants that grow around us.

https://tessmounseyphotography.cargo.site

Woody New

The Farm

In a world desensitised to death as a result of the industrialisation of our food, it is imperative to touch base with the sources of our produce every once in a while. The Farm is an ongoing body of work that highlights the hardships of life on a small-scale Cornish farm, from the interwoven first-person perspective of both animals and humans. This project represents the communities of farmers around the world who show compassion and love for their livestock, yet bring an honest realism when it comes to the slaughter.

The Farm depicts Francois and Beatrice’s journey into small holding. Between them they possess almost no commercial aspirations yet a share a profound ardour for fresh, organic food. Their belief that locality could be a solution to certain issues surrounding food security, is infectious. Their ideals are the foundations of this project.

The Farm is a timeless place with no sense of order. A place of compassion and occasional brutality, but never cruelty.