I am excited to share that I have my first self-published zine available to purchase!
Blackmore Vale is a series of 12 images that attempts to observe the industrialisation of the towns and villages of Somerset and Dorset, also known as Thomas Hardy country with each image set within the locations that appear in his fictional version Wessex.
As Hardy challenges this romantic landscape with harrowing narratives, this sequence of images also explores the silent darkness that lies within the pastoral.
Details about Zine
£15 (Including Postage) / able to use PayPal (or Bank Transfer if needed)
Size - A3 (Standard Tabloid)
Edition of 20 copies
Email me at wilde.hayden@gmail.com if you would like to purchase a copy
Having started back in 2017 for the end of my BA degree, I was never happy with how I left the project when I graduated. Something just didn't sit right with me - and I couldn't work out what that was.
Since then it has taken me more-or-less 6 years to finalise this sequence of 12 images. I thought, being that this was my first major body of work, I wanted to try and expand and create more than the original 12 images. I tested over a dozen sequences, tried different text to flow between images but nothing seemed to really work.
Until in the last year I decided to re-visit the original graduate sequence, having spent a good 5 years not looking at these images. With fresh eyes, I found an area to improve upon - a simple switch of a few images and suddenly the project felt right finally.
Accompanying Poem;-
shot during the twilight hour,
revealing contrast between a romantic
view of the english countryside and
its industrial reality.
the rural environment –
an invisible factory, generating
the hum of production amongst its’
dormant villages.
this series explores the transitional
state where idealic meets necessity.
Full Project available to view on my website (www.haydenwildephoto.co.uk)