‘Animal Thanet’ exists as a series of images which examine our relationship with the natural world and environment through the use of plastic animals placed in a variety of habitats & scenarios in and around Ramsgate & the Isle of Thanet in Kent.
One of my first recollections as a child was of having a farm with plastic animals. I loved it. I collected these animals throughout my childhood and developed a strong affinity with the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it. When I got married and had a family and child of my own, I started collecting again – particularly after we moved to Ramsgate, Kent – always under the pretence that they were for my daughter Nell ! Living by the coast was like revisiting childhood.
My wider concerns for the natural world, is particularly focussed on the lives of its wild animals. Loss of habitat, diminishing numbers, extinction and callous exploitation hold a mirror to our humanity. We may soon only have plastic versions of our wild neighbours to play with.
This set of images was made on Ramsgate Main Sands and the coastal walk at low tide between Ramsgate and Broadstairs.
