Right Here, Right Now. It’s Historical, Big, Huge and Beautiful.

“Right Here, Right Now. It’s Historical, Big, Huge and Beautiful” was my final project as part of my Photography MA at Falmouth University. It features a mixture of portraiture and environmental images in the archbishop’s walled garden at Bishopthorpe near York.

The garden is worked on by Brunswick Organic Nursery which provides a work-like environment for adults with learning disabilities. The project evolves every year - people can drop in and out at any time as can their image. I intend to carry on with it year on year for as long as possible.

The project is available as a printed photobook and also appears in different formats as exhibitions. Each format and showing features slightly different photographs which vary depending on the sequence and who is involved in the project at the time.

Project statement

“It is the basis of the desire of any group of human beings to have a place of their own, a place which gives them reality, presence, power of living, which feeds them, body and soul.” 

– Paul Tillich

Hidden near the village of Bishopthorpe, a community of people are coming together. In this place – which many walk or drive past every day without knowing it’s there – people are creating wood-worked items, growing vegetables to sell in their own shop, and developing the garden. They have been doing this for nearly twenty years.

My wife has worked at Brunswick Organic Nursery for a decade; l've been a volunteer there for almost the same amount of time. Within the environment of the Archbishops’ walled garden, adults with learning disabilities are provided with a work-like environment. Right Here, Right Now. It's Historical, Big, Huge and Beautiful is a portrait of this community.

The project was a collaboration with Brunswick, empowering those pictured to be seen on their own terms, separate from from the societal label that's placed upon them. The walled garden is a place which offers people agency and autonomy. 

There are multiple traces of historical, natural and social layers to be discovered here: the long history of the garden; the vignettes of many different lives that exist within this protected space, from plants to insects to the workers themselves; and the passing of time, its seasonal cycle of growth and renewal.

Gardens have a particular psychological effect, creating a place of sanctuary and growth in which individuals can find and uncover their values. At Brunswick, people can thrive, be validated and be seen on their own terms.

Portraits

Portrait photography taken in the Archbishop’s walled garden in Bishopthorpe near York. Brunswick Organic Nursery have developed and cared for the walled garden for over 20 years.

A man standing in the shade of a tree during a hot day in the Archbishop's walled garden in Bishopthorpe near York..
Using the drill in the poly tunnel wood workshop at the walled garden.
A man making a bug hotel at the wood workshop in the walled garden. He peers over his glasses at the camera. He is in the Archbishop's walled garden in Bishopthorpe near York, which is run by Brunswick Organic Nursery.
Man wearing a camouflage hat, blue shirt, and gloves digging in a garden with a shovel, with a brick house and blue sky in the background.
A man chatting on a bench in a walled garden during a break in work on a hot day. It is in the Archbisshop's Walled garden in Bishopthorpe near York, run by Brunswick Organic Nursery.
Portrait of a man painting boxes in an outdoors workshop at the Archbishop's Walled Garden. The workshop is run by Brunswick Organic Nursery.
A man wearing sunglasses, a gray shirt, gloves, and a gray hat tending to flowers and plants in a garden with a brick wall and leafy green trees in the background.
A printed photo showing people working on a construction project, with one person bending down near a ground grid, and others standing nearby, on a wooden surface.
An open photo book resting on a wooden surface with a blurred brick wall image on the left page and a picture of trees and a brick wall on the right page.
Open photo book showing three images: near a bench, a jar of English mustard, and a reusable shopping bag on a wooden table.
A person flipping through a small photo book with pictures of woodworking and construction, resting on a wooden surface.
Open photo album showing an outdoor scene with a small wooden shed, brick and glass greenhouse, grassy area, and cloudy sky.

Landscapes

Photography of the walled garden areas.

Man walking past the walled garden buildings on a summers day.
An iron pattress plate on a red brick wall in a walled garden.
A comma butterfly sitting on a thistle.
A common blue damselfly sitting on a pond plant.
Wheelbarrows and hose pipes in the walled garden.
Crops, wild flowers and poly tunnels in the Archbishops walled garden in Bishopthorpe.
A triptych spread of photos showing people working in the Archbishop's Walled garden in Bishopthorpe during the summer months.
A diptych of photos of the Archbishop's walled garden. On the left is a tipper truck between a bed of flowers and a bricked up doorway in a red brick wall. On the right is a lead sign showing the type of fruit tree - in this case it says 1869 Archduk
A man outdoors, looking over his shoulder, wearing a black vest, under a tree with a brick wall background.
Two images of a pond with green algae, tall grasses, and ducks swimming in the water.
A bunch of freshly harvested carrots with soil still on them, held against a background of a partly cloudy sky.
An apple hanging on a wire against a red brick wall.
A man in gardening gloves and apron holding a small brush outdoors, with a brick wall and an apple tree in the background. Next to him is a close-up of the tree's branch with a pair of red and black headphones hanging from it and a white face mask at
Two images of woodworking activities. The left image shows a person working at a wooden table with wood shavings and a tape measure, wearing gloves and casual clothing. The right image shows two people at a workbench outdoors, one person pointing at
Two people working with a drill in a greenhouse, wearing hats and protective gear.
Two people sitting under a green canopy tent in a garden with flowers and a brick wall in the background.
Left side shows a jar of English mustard on a wooden shelf, right side shows a reusable white plastic bag with blue text reading "Reuse. Repeat." on a wooden bench outdoors.
Overgrown garden with a brick wall and a window in the background, partially obscured by dense foliage and tall plants.