PORTRAITS OF BLEAN

When we walk through a forest we tend to see the forest but not the individual trees. They blend into this mass of greens and browns. We see an entity instead of its individuality. 

Blean Forest is one I’ve had the pleasure of exploring for the past year but unfortunately like many forests across the UK, it is under threat.

“The Blean Woodland Complex is under threat from at least three large-scale housing developments (totalling almost 5,000 houses).”

In this series I decided to take some portraits of the trees which live there. I hope it won’t be their last. 

As many of us spend time distracted indoors by TV shows, Instagram, and other digital means, the world around us is slowly being destroyed. 

Charlie Chaplin said back in his famous speech in 1940 “We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.” He also says, “More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…”

As I see the rise of AI, again we are letting ourselves get lost in the machine.

This series isn’t just raising awareness to Blean Forest, but hopes to raise awareness to how distracted we have let ourselves become. We are getting lost in a digital dopamine producing glitch and not realising the consequences this habit is having over time.