CHLOÉ III

CORNWALL, UK, 2025

Bodmin Moor is a vast landscape. In winter months, it lives up to its eerie and desolate persona. The moor is steeped in folklore and legends. You always check behind you in case the Beast of Bodmin Moor is stalking you or the ghost of Charlotte Dymond is watching you on a boulder.

Although I never encountered a large cat or a Victorian ghost, Bodmin's barren presence was felt as I trecked Rough Tor and Brown Willy, Cornwall's highest peaks. 

I wanted to encapsulate its empty, desolate demeanour. When filming in landscape, I always capture a representation of how I feel. At Bodmin, it was a feeling of disorientation. 

When I first arrived, it was far too hazy. Sharp shots were hard to get. This was a problem.  I wanted to make art of this expansive landscape. I wanted it sharp. 

The filmmaker has to work with what they have in front of them. You can plan all you want, and you must. But when you arrive at the location on the day, be prepared to adapt to whatever the Gods throw at you. 

Instead of filming the hazy landscape as the main subject. I channelled my inner Ralph Gibson and photographed Chloé as the main subject. Close up, but with space to show the vast landscape behind. A two-in-one. The subject and landscape create a bold contrast. 

Ralph Gibson is the master of this. I love his juxtaposing photos of a bold subject against a contrasting background, like his image of a hand holding a gun against a backdrop of tranquil fields. Bodmin is a place where this style works. 

Bodmin Moor should be Bodmin Forest. The area was a city of trees populated by wolves, bears, cave lions, hyenas and lynx before human intervention. It's lost that character. Now gaining a dramatic but empty personality. I wanted to mirror this emptiness in my art. Showing as much of the sky encapsulates this. Once I returned home, I had to convince myself we hadn't gatecrashed a moon landing. 

"THE FILMMAKER HAS TO WORK WITH WHAT THEY HAVE IN FRONT OF THEM. YOU CAN PLAN ALL YOU WANT, AND YOU MUST. BUT WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE LOCATION ON THE DAY, BE PREPARED TO ADAPT TO WHATEVER THE GODS THROW AT YOU. 

–JACOB J. WATSON-HOWLAND

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