The Silent Land

In October 2016 a local man committed suicide at Stockhill Wood. I didn’t know him but I was aware of the circumstances that led to his decision to take his own life, to which there were parallels with my own personal situation at the time. I’ve know these woods since childhood and I often take my own children there now. The tragic and chilling suicide changed how it felt to be there. I wanted to make photographs at Stockhill as a way of reclaiming the woods from that macabre present - of processing his choice in the context of my own circumstances, and as an elegy for him and the thousands of others who, each year, choose to end their lives. Alongside a subjective mirroring of my own experience and responses to this environment the images observe the phenology of this place over several years and seeks to invite reflective readings. I hope that the work encourages discussions around the mental health epidemic and also addresses the paradox within many ‘natural’ environments: how these provide great health benefits for health but are often infused with feelings of melancholy and pathos, and frequently the destination of choice for those seeking to end their lives.