Casgliadau Arlein

CHAPMAN, Chris (Chris Chapman was born in Wigan, Lancashire in 1952. He began his photographic career at the Newport College of Art in South Wales where he was invited to join the Documentary Photography Course run by the Magnum photographer, David Hurn. In 1975 he moved to Dartmoor, since when he has documented aspects of Dartmoor life. His photographs reflect traditional skills inherent in the indigenous population and emphasise the accumulation of knowledge associated with age and customs. He has a large archive depicting the culture and character of the region. His photography has been widely recognised and is represented in both public and private collections, including those of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Arts Council of England and the International Center of Photography in New York. His work has been published under various titles, including The Right Side of the Hedge (David & Charles), Dartmoor: The Threatened Wilderness (Channel 4) and Wild Goose and Riddon. The Dartmoor Photographs of Chris Chapman. In the early 1990's he worked as presenter and photographer for a new HTV television series, Secrets of the Moor. Each series consisted of six programmes exploring the landscape, history and culture of the differing regions within the South West of England. Exmoor was featured in 1992, The Quantock Hills in 1994, The Somerset Levels in 1996, and The Mendip Hills in 1997. A further series of eight programmes with photography as the central theme, Chris Chapman: On Assignment, was completed in 1998. All the above programmes were produced by the Bristol based television company, Available Light Productions. In July 2000, Exeter Health Care Arts commissioned Chris to produce a body of work for the Tavy Elderly Day Care Ward at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Following a theme of Positive Views of the Third Age the black and white images are portrayed with excerpts from interviews with his subjects. The project was completed in April 2001 and is on permanent display. In August 2000 the Bristol based television company Icon Films, on behalf of HTV, commissioned Chris to document the Berkeley Estate in Gloucestershire. The estate has been in the same family for over 850 years. A series of four programmes, The Berkeley Estate with Chris as the presenter and photographer, explored life on the estate from August 2000 through to the spring of 2001 including the devastating effects of foot and Mouth disease. In May, Icon Films arranged a presentation at Berkeley Castle, where Chris gave the Berkeley family a leather-bound album containing the photographic record of their estate as it appeared at the beginning of the new millennium. In April 2001 Beaford Arts commissioned Chris to make a photographic record of the effects of Foot and Mouth disease in North Devon. Concentrating on one contiguous farm, Silence at Ramscliffe documents everyday life on a farm through to the day of the cull. Two landscape photographs from this work, taken from roads in North Devon, were included in East of Eden, a large-scale exhibition exploring the theme of art, nature and society. [Source text: Chris Chapman])