Marc Provins

The light in St Ives is special and looking out towards the edge of our planet has always excited and confused me in equal measure, the primal and the intellectual struggling for control. The scale of things becomes apparent, large masses moving around each other, making things grow, pushing and pulling the oceans.  We are very small.

I've been asked to contribute some of my Horizon work to a group exhibition opening this week at PS Mirabel. The images were made between 2010 and 2012 and having to look back and select some images for the show has been an interesting experience. I've been reflecting on my ideas and working methods from that time and considering how some aspects have changed, whilst some themes remain constant in my current work.  This is what I wrote at the time: For me standing looking out to sea has the same potential as going to an airport or train station, there is the possibility of going somewhere. It is a threshold to the exotic, the start of a journey. I use photography to explore the relationship we have with our surroundings, interested in transitional spaces, thresholds between places. It is a sensual shock to see little but sky and saltwater, separated by a graphic line, the horizon. It is almost too much to comprehend and causes a physical and mental reaction. I didn’...

I've a good friend who lives by the sea, you can sit in her first floor living room and look out over Morecambe Bay towards the horizon. Tilt your head left and squint, there's Blackpool Tower, tilt right and the mountains of the Lake District command the landscape. The light is constantly flickering and changing, colours appear and then they're gone, rain lashes in, moves on, the sun breaks through. Like sitting watching an open fire, it stirs something primal. I'd travelled to Morecambe with another friend and we both sat mesmerised trying to keep up with show, listening to the sound of waves through the open door. I've photographed Morecambe itself many times. I'd love to see it rise again and be the bustling, stylish place it once was. If Blackpool was a person it would be Bet Lynch, whereas Morecambe once had higher aspirations and would've played a good Annie Walker. These days there are sparks of optimism and some interesting events and refurbishm...

I knew the expression 'pins' referring to legs but had to Google what the Cockney rhyming slang comes from. It looks like 'pins & pegs', but there are some great alternatives like 'bacon & eggs' and 'dolly pegs'. I think I might start trying to incorporate more Cockney into my everyday speak, I do have London roots but they are more South  (Saff)  London than East London, where I think it originates.  Anyway this is all to illustrate a new picture that sits quite neatly with an older picture. So brogues, legs and a sea view from my two main muses. This might be turning into a set...  Oh by the way the top view is Morecambe Bay and the lower image is from The Wirral looking across towards Wales. The North West of England is a beautiful place, with some stylish residents. 

Great day in Lytham on Saturday, sea, sun, sand and some posh coffee shops. This picture sums up why photography excites me. It records what is there but simultaneously has the ability to reveal other layers of reality. It taps into magic in the universe... or I could just be a bit over-tired.

It's a year now since I started on this project, new images coming very soon.