Simon Roberts is a British photographer who is represented by Flowers Gallery. Born in Croydon, in 1974, his work explores the relationship between notions of national identity and belonging, and how this relates to the landscape. He has published three critically acclaimed monographs; Motherland (Chris Boot, 2007), We English (Chris Boot, 2009) and Pierdom (Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2013). He has exhibited his work widely and his photographs reside in major public and private collections, including the George Eastman House, Deutsche Börse Art Collection and V&A Collection.
Simon Roberts courtesy of Flowers Gallery
His fascination with the relationship between the political and physical aspects of a country was heavily influenced by studying Human Geography in the University of Sheffield. This degree culminated in a thesis that was based around the concepts developed by Edward Said of “imagined landscapes” and how the tourism industry portrays an idealised version of a landscape and culture.
Simon Roberts courtesy of Flowers Gallery
Through his photography Roberts aims to move beyond such preconceptions of national identities through his photographs which, through the effect of a double-exposure, are layered with tourist iconography such as postcards and selfie-sticks. Such influences on his work makes the medium of a postcard an interesting medium on which to express such ideas.
Roberts’ photographs depict the mundane ways in which we interact with the landscape- “walking the dog, diving into a river, cycling along a tow-path—interacting with the landscape perhaps with no sense of the historic significance of the place we’re passing through or using.” This can be seen in the double-exposure he deploys which melds the ancient ruins with a selfie-stick which is set neither behind, nor in front of, but rather within the picture. This allows us to reflect on the mass influx of tourism to landscapes that we constantly redefine with our own presence - “Places, events and ideas are continually reframed, redrawn and renegotiated depending on the artistic viewpoint of the individual photographer - we all have our own unique biography and stance, thereby bring a unique perspective to the subject matter we are narrating.”
Outside of his own professional practice Simon is an active public speaker and holds a position as a visiting lecturer on the European Master of Fine Art course at IED Madrid and an Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Nottingham (2013-2016).
Don't miss your chance to purchase a postcard by Simon Roberts, you can buy your ticket here now. The photographs will be on display at theprintspace, Shoreditch until the 24th October.