Artist Statement

I photograph the quiet, close-up, natural spaces in the city such as parks and gardens, documenting the ambiguities found there. I am investigating notions of beauty. At first glance these places look beautiful but closer up they can appear abject, or often a combination of the two. The effects of layer upon layer of human habitation create scenes that seem both beautiful and toxic.

‘Sometimes while walking I catch sight of what at a little distance looks like a jewel or flower and turns out a few steps later to be trash. Yet before it is fully revealed, it looks beautiful.’ Rebecca Solnit.

Catherine Cloran 2011