Hughes learned to surf in South Wales in 1985, where encounters with sewage and contaminated waters profoundly impacted his artistic journey.His multidisciplinary practice spans photography, painting, sculpture, film, and digital media. Notably, he became an early and dedicated member of Surfers Against Sewage.

Body Boarder, Costa De Caparica, Portugal, 1990

During the initial COVID lockdown, Andy Hughes conceived the project Red Weed, drawing inspiration from H.G. Wells's novel "The War of the Worlds." In Wells's narrative, an advanced but ailing alien race introduced a peculiar plant known as the red creeper or red weed, which proliferated rapidly upon contact with water, inundating the landscape and obstructing waterways.

Red Creeper, Porthtowan Beach, Cornwall, 2020

"Very few directors have tackled the complex relationship between environmental issues and digital games. With Plastic Scoop, Andy Hughes makes that connection painfully manifest. By appropriating both the aesthetics of video games and the language of vintage promotional videos and other archival material, à la Adam Curtis, Hughes reminds us that have become aliens to our own planet”.

Matteo Bittanti // https://www.gamescenes.org

The Burton Art Gallery and Museum announced the appointment of Andy Hughes as the 2024 environmental artist-in-residence. The commission included the creation of a video artwork (Machinima) and research aimed at developing alternate perspectives
on climate change and pollution.

Dominant Wave Theory explores the detritus and plastic garbage washed up on the  shores where Hughes surfed.By photographing everyday products in such an environment, Hughes attempted to draw attention to the small scale, the unseen, and the pollutants of modern industrial consumerist society.

The book was designed by the revolutionary American designer David Carson

The groundbreaking book "Dominant Wave Theory," published in 2006 by Booth Clibborn Editions (London) and Abrams Books (New York), marked a pivotal moment as one of the first photographic monographs dedicated to plastic pollution. It played a crucial role in early efforts to 'raise awareness' about the environmental impact of plastic waste.

Sandwich Wrapper, Porthmeor Beach, 2004

This image, created in 1990 on the beach at Costa de Caparica, includes plastic nurdles, which were first reported washing up on beaches in the 1970s, and plastiglomerate, first identified on Hawaii's Kamilo Beach in 2006. The plastiglomerate depicted in this image predates the Hawaii discovery.

Dead Rat, Plastic Nurdles, Plastiglomerate, Coasta De Caparica, Portugal, 1990