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february diary / announcement: my upcoming(!!!) photobook / daily-ish art practice / work news / bookmarks
This week, I am SUPER excited to finally share this news–something that’s been in the works for almost two years.
I’m so pleased and delighted and GASSED to announce that my photographs of Croydon, my hometown, will be published by RRB Books’ Platform this summer.
‘Crocus Valley’ is a love letter to Croydon, a purposefully unexpected and romantic view of the strange town/city hybrid; a view that’s rarely–if ever–depicted, but which coexists alongside the central urban sprawl and harsh reality of the place.
The book launch will coincide with Croydon’s turn as London Borough of Culture this summer, and we’re designing a mini series of community-focused events to go along with it. There’s more exciting possibilities in progress, so watch this space as I’ll be sharing weekly progress and process in this newsletter.
See you next week,
A x
Visual journal
Daily-ish art practice
Among some unsatisfying drawings this past week, I enjoyed wearing down the most colourful oil pastels in this study of a photograph I took in while staying in the French Alps at the end of last year in one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in. What I learned was drawing window views are hard AF dude.
Work work
Writing
My latest newsletter for Where the Leaves Fall is on sound:
“It’s an intriguing insight into how our human minds work. Discovering the sounds that vibrate along with our own internal “waves”, and how other sounds can completely mess with us; the sound of someone chewing their food loudly, or the classic nails down a chalkboard which is so jarring it became a motif for anything unpleasant.”
I’m currently an associate lecturer at Cambridge School of Art, teaching a short photography + writing module. It’s my first time doing extended teaching and it’s been brilliant–though a bit strange considering I feel like I’ve only barely left university myself.
Photography
This week I’ve mostly been working on my photobook ‘Crocus Valley’. The final sequence for the book was recently finished (woohoo!) and now I’ve been working on editing each image to a place I’m happy with before they’re sent off to the printers.
Bookmarks
This series of events by the South East London Folklore Society caught my eye; I’m hoping to make the March talk on Scottish Highland fairy lore.
‘Around a corner, that same dirt appears in the base of a sculpture of a barn painted green, by William Christenberry. “You don’t call it dirt, son!” Christenberry recalled in a 2005 Smithsonian lecture, quoting the redressing he’d once received from an Alabama agronomist uncle. “It’s soil! Soil nurtures life!”’: William Christenberry, RaMell Ross, and the American Crucible of Hale County, Alabama, a remarkable exhibition by the two artists charts a visionary path through the landscapes of the South.
I discovered Beth Robertson Fiddes’ incredible Scottish landscape paintings through Twitter last year, hoping to catch her exhibition ‘Chasing Light’ in Edinburgh next month.
As much as I really don’t need to add to my to-be-read pile (and what a pile it is), Zahra Hankir's ‘Eyeliner’ sounds wonderful: “Seen through Zahra Hankir's (kohl-lined) eyes, this ubiquitous but seldom-examined product becomes a portal to history, proof both of the stunning variety among cultures across time and space and of our shared humanity.”
This video demonstrating mushrooms releasing their spores blew my mind.
Tipping jar
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A bit about me
Hey! I’m Ameena – a writer and photographer based in London. I love to tell stories about adventure, the outdoors, and our relationship with the natural world.
That pastel is BEAUTIFUL! Seriously. So good to see you engaging in an art practice. By the way, is that a magnetic paint editing wall I spot? ;-)