The Silent Land

The Silent Land

Landscape - British

'The Silent Land' documents a Forestry Commission plantation managed for timber and recreational use, which grows on the remains of ancient lead works on the Mendip Hills in Somerset. This is where a man chose to end his life in 2016. Affected by this tragic event in a place he knew intimately, Jesse Alexander used the memorializing act of photography to explore the elegiac potential of the forest, quietly observing the seasonal changes and their cycles. It invites questions around the paradox of outdoor, ‘natural’ spaces – how these provide well documented benefits for health and wellbeing, but are often infused with pathos and melancholy, and are frequently the destination of choice for those seeking to end their lives.

The series is accompanied by a text by Jacky Bowring PhD, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University, New Zealand, and author of 'A Field Guide to Melancholy' (2008) and 'Melancholy and the Landscape: Locating Sadness, Memory and Reflection in the Landscape' (2017).

Jesse Alexander

VIKA Books

2021

Offset lithographic printing on Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75

Paperback cover, full flaps, section sewn

Cover stock: 290gsm, Twist, G.F. Smith, UK (milled in Italy)
Internal paper: 135gsm, Heaven 42, G.F. Smith, UK (milled in Germany)

Cover foil blocked using Foilco compostable foils. Cover and internal papers are: FSC and PEFC approved, recyclable, Elemental Chlorine free (ECF), Acid Free, REACH Compliant, Carbon Black Free, Heavy Metal Compliant (94/62), and PAP 21/22.

21.4 x 18.0 x 1 cm

64

37

300

Bristol

Victoria Forrest

n/a

Taylor Brothers, Bristol

978-0-9570255-6-1

www.jessealexander.co.uk

https://www.jessealexander.co.uk/thesilentland

https://www.jessealexander.co.uk/shop

https://tootiredproject.com/features/interview-jesse-alexander