Defence of the Realm: Dymchurch
Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones at Solaris Gallery
Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones spent over eighteen months prowling around the brutalist sea defences of Dymchurch. The resulting work is an oblique testament to the foolhardy human desire to control and dominate natural forces rather than respect and work with them.
Alone in a sometimes freezing landscape, he waited for his long film exposures to take place. In the resulting works, the sea sometimes becomes a force of its own volition, and our defences can appear insubstantial.
The artist reflects on the threat of climate change and ever-rising sea levels that could wash away a whole coastline. With over 1,500 engineered concrete units in place, completed in 2011, it is optimistically stated that the Dymchurch defences will hold off the invasion of waves for 100 years.
Jeremy’s work draws parallels with Paul Nash’s Dymchurch paintings from 1922. Nash was not long out of the trenches near Ypres, and his works at Dymchurch captured the brutality and threat of a different kind of invasion.
100 years on, and some things never change. The metronomic timetable of the moon and its gravitational pull still creates tides that bash the brutalist concrete sea defences of Dymchurch – nature’s own invasion force. The cycle is relentless and dramatic, yet peaceful to witness. There’s a sense of the immortal, an awareness of place and power in the expanse of a moonlit night.
Photographer Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones was born in Uganda and grew up in Kenya. He studied photography at The London College of Printing then post-graduate film and television at the Royal College of Art. He has spent most of his professional career as a documentary filmmaker, directing films for UK and international broadcasters. He also works as an artist using analogue technology and assorted film cameras.
Solaris is a contemporary gallery and fine art & photographic giclée printer at 76 Norman Road, St Leonards on Sea. The exhibition of Llewellyn-Jones’ work, Defence of the Realm, shows until 12 October. See his insta page at instagram.com/p/C_LBx2doK6-/.
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