Drax [Highly Commended]


P0168

Over a year in the making, ‘Light After Dark’ is an aesthetic and conceptual ‘re-visioning’ of energy and British landscape. Throughout 2008, I made repeat visits to all 32 power stations of England. My images are captured on Large Format negative with colour exposures ranging from 5 minutes to 5 hours and no digital post-production. Drax is the largest power station in the UK, providing 7% of Britain’s power needs. In 2006 it was the subject of the Camp for Climate Action, where protesters attempted to highlight our dependency on power and its carbon footprint. Drax has recently set huge targets of burning 10% renewable sources but currently imports the majority of its coal from Poland by Sea and Rail.


Artist: Toby Smith