The Rule Of Three
2024
The Rule Of Three is an exploration of the Mendip Hills National Landscape, in Somerset England. Three generations connect me to this place. My Grandfather was an amateur geologist who passed his teaching down to my Dad, who in turn, after a youth spent caving in the underworld of the Mendips, passed to me. Through this landscape I have connected with an inherited life directing interest from a grandfather I did not get the chance to know.
In the South West of England lies this ancient seabed, compressed over 300 million years to become the limestone Mendip Hills. This landscape holds memories; not just of creatures pressed into the earth, but of those who have wandered through this land to leave their mark.
Retracing my family’s footsteps and entering this land to be consciously entombed for a while, allows a clarity of reflection. A connection through stone becomes an exploration of this land’s internal landscape and my own. The formations of The Mendips become markers of knowledge and discovery, with their caves becoming a space of transition and revelation.
Through this photographic interaction, The Rule Of Three seeks to visually articulate the relationship between landscape and memory, heritage and personal identity. Not just a study of place, but an inquiry into how we come to understand ourselves through the histories we inherit, and the spaces we inhabit.
Geological time is observed by the stone folds of strata. Human time is measured by memories of family. Water's time is shown through the depths it burrows in the earth.
Stone Isles
2021
Stone Isles explores geology as both a scientific discipline and a cultural inheritance of the UK, the birthplace of modern geology.
James Hutton’s 18th-century observations at Siccar Point reshaped our understanding of the Earth’s timescales; this history continues today through the work of geologists, palaeontologists, educators, and enthusiasts across the UK. My project seeks to document this living culture through portraits, landscapes, and still lives of collections and sites.
James Hutton’s 18th-century observations at Siccar Point reshaped our understanding of the Earth’s timescales; this history continues today through the work of geologists, palaeontologists, educators, and enthusiasts across the UK. My project seeks to document this living culture through portraits, landscapes, and still lives of collections and sites.
Singing River Mine
2019
Singer River Mine pitches lone figures against imposing and awe inspiring landscapes, the book Singing River Mine ruminates on the concepts of coming of age. Exploring the experiences and emotions we encounter on the path to our independence; drawing parallels between caving, illustrated through a combination of family archive images and geological landscape studies.
This work was show across exhibitions at Arnolfini in Bristol, and Truman Brewery in London. The handmade, limited edition photobook includes a bespoke poem from writer Jonny Heath, who Zach spoke to on length about the project and the subjects it illustrates.
Find out more here: Interview
DIY TATTOO
2022
These self taught artists each come from unique backgrounds; illustrators, designers, fine artists, and art historians to name a few. Each artist is a reflection of their individual style and their work challenges the ‘traditional’ western format and route into tattooing that is seen on highstreets across the UK. As part of this project I receive a tattoo from each artist during the session that I photograph them. Being a ‘client’ of theirs and leaving with a piece from our encounter on my body puts me within this scene rather than an observer.
This ongoing collaboration has developed into self portraits.Illustrating the diptych nature of tattoo artist and canvas whilst simultaneously presenting their art.”
This project was generously supported by Noods Levels and the Martin Parr Foundation, during PROCESS 2024.
Zach Knott (b. 1999) is a photographic artist from Gloucestershire, UK. His work explores the intersection of people, place, and memory through themes of family, land, and identity. A graduate of UWE Bristol with a First Class Honours in Photography, Zach is currently undertaking an MA in Photography while working across editorial, fine art, and exhibition contexts in the UK. Currently employed at STANLEY/BARKER as a Photobook Publishing Assistant, and previously worked with The Royal Photographic Society in Exhibitions and Education roles.
Contact
CV available upon request
PhMuseum
Exhibitions
- Noods Levels Process Group Show, Royal Photographic Society & Martin Parr Foundation - 2024
- Pupil Sphere Graduate Showcase, Online Exhibition - 2022
- Vessel Group Show, Arnolfini and Truman Brewery, Freerange Events - 2022
- UWE Graduate Showcase - 2022
- South West Collective ‘Finding a Way Home’ Group Show, Artizan Gallery, Torbay - 2021
- Solid Air Group Show, The Royal Photographic Society - 2021
- Solid Air Publication Launch, Photo Book Cafe - 2021
- Photograd Graduate Spotlight - Online Exhibition - 2021
- UWE Showcase, Online Exhibition, Print Exhibition, Spike Island - 2021
- Bristol UWE Graduate Showcase - Spike Island Bristol - 2021
- Group Exhibition, Bower Ashton - 2019
- Yashica Mat Solo Exhibition and Curation, TomatoJack Arts - 2018
Publications
- Noods Levels Process Zine - 2024
- Blumenhaus Magazine ‘Issue 4’ - 2023
- Horizon Magazine ‘Issue 06’ - 2023
- Pupil Sphere Graduate Showcase - 2022
- Amateur Photographer Magazine, Graduate Spotlight and Interview - 2022
- Loud Bristol - 2021
- Solid Air - 2021
- South West Collective, ‘Finding a Way Home’ - 2021
Talks
- Cluster Photography & Print, “An Introduction to Photobook Making” - 2025
- UWE Third Year BA(Hons) Final Module Launch, Artist and Process Talk - 2022