Overview
Andy Hughes's work explores the detritus and garbage washed up on the shores where he surfs in surprisingly lush and romantic photographs. Despite their ominous presence, these mass-produced items become aesthetic forms within the open theater of the beach. By photographing everyday products in such an environment, Hughes attempts to draw attention to the small scale, the unseen, and the pollutants of modern industrial consumerist society.A portion of the proceeds from this book, which was designed by well-known designer David Carson, will be donated to three charities: Surfrider Foundation, Surfers Against Sewage, and the Marine Conservation Society.
Synopsis
Andy Hughes's work explores the detritus and garbage washed up on the shores where he surfs in surprisingly lush and romantic photographs. Despite their ominous presence, these mass-produced items become aesthetic forms within the open theater of the beach. By photographing everyday products in such an environment, Hughes attempts to draw attention to the small scale, the unseen, and the pollutants of modern industrial consumerist society.
A portion of the proceeds from this book, which was designed by well-known designer David Carson, will be donated to three charities: Surfrider Foundation, Surfers Against Sewage, and the Marine Conservation Society.
Debora Miller - Library Journal
Hughes has been doggedly photographing human society's flotsam on beaches for ten years. As a surfer, his relationship to the coastline is intimate, and his view is close and dramatic. He creates confounding magic from washed-up trash, plastic bottles, disposable beverage tops, tangled fishing wire, and deflated beach toys-just some of the objects he has captured in England, Scotland, and the United States. The statuary images he finesses from them are at once majestic and insidious. Starkly positioned where found, the human-manufactured items look dangerous, lonely, and strangely monumental, their presence a distress against such lovely backdrops as sand, sea, and sky. Blending artistic beauty with environmental exposé, Hughes is successful in making the viewer wonder how garbage affects our oceans and beaches. Five essays contextualize the work in artistic and environmental terms and call attention to the immense ecological problem these objects present. Finely designed (by David Carson) and printed, this is an excellent first book for the photographer. Recommended for large public and academic photography collections.
Editorials
Library Journal
Hughes has been doggedly photographing human society's flotsam on beaches for ten years. As a surfer, his relationship to the coastline is intimate, and his view is close and dramatic. He creates confounding magic from washed-up trash, plastic bottles, disposable beverage tops, tangled fishing wire, and deflated beach toys-just some of the objects he has captured in England, Scotland, and the United States. The statuary images he finesses from them are at once majestic and insidious. Starkly positioned where found, the human-manufactured items look dangerous, lonely, and strangely monumental, their presence a distress against such lovely backdrops as sand, sea, and sky. Blending artistic beauty with environmental exposé, Hughes is successful in making the viewer wonder how garbage affects our oceans and beaches. Five essays contextualize the work in artistic and environmental terms and call attention to the immense ecological problem these objects present. Finely designed (by David Carson) and printed, this is an excellent first book for the photographer. Recommended for large public and academic photography collections.
—Debora Miller