Ilona Denton
We are Lichens
My work explores new myths; the human body not as an independent biological organism, but a symbiont of an integral ecology. Lichens are uniquely symbiotic. Separate organisms - fungus, algae and bacteria - adapt and grow together in a stable unit. Un-partnered women who are approaching post childbearing age consider their relationship to motherhood, and environment. Turned out in ‘siren-suits’ and dreaming of urgencies relative to their own biology, congruent with the slow, rumbling call of climate change, they balance thoughts of becoming a lone parent or childless / childfree. A chimeric paradox manifests as desire and loss in a dystopic, fictional future, highlighting the continual interplay between people and other species, for “we have never been individuals; we are lichens.” (Gilbert, 2014).
Adam Bennett • Ilona Denton • Adrian Fear • Matthew Keenan • Justin Keene • Paul Railton •
Arts University Bournemouth
MA Photography
University of Brighton
MA Photography
University of Derby
MA Film and Photography
Falmouth University
MA Photography
London College of Communication
MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography
University of Portsmouth
MA Photography
Royal College of Art
MA Photography
University of South Wales
MA Documentary Photography