Landscape 1st place winner

Kynance is an ongoing series which focusses on the extraordinary force of volcanic geology. In this landscape we are confronted with rare evidence of the colossal pressures which once created the surface of the earth. I am finding that lockdown has, for me, forced a shift of focus. While environmental and political change accelerates at an unprecedented rate, I am now looking at transformations which happened over a very different timescale. These images feature a terrain which would seem to be immutable, belying its turbulent and explosive past. The rock formations demonstrate a manifestation of the planet’s physical history: times of stability veined with turbulent change, fault lines which can be seen as a metaphor for our current human landscape. The colours reference the vibrancy of volcanic eruptions, the molten rock and toxic hot gases - An unnatural palette enhances both the otherness of these rare formations and the inherent vivid appearance of the crystal flecked and veined serpentine rock.

Tom Leighton is an artist, photographer and printmaker based in the UK.

COLLECTIONS INCLUDE:

ING Group
UBS Art Collection
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Sandor Family Collection
MuCEM (French National Museum of European and Mediterranean civilisations)
The Shein Family Collection