Andy Hughes The Red Weed

'In the end the red weed succumbed almost as quickly as it had spread. A cankering disease, due, it is believed, to the action of certain bacteria, presently seized upon it. Now by the action of natural selection, all terrestrial plants have acquired a resisting power against bacterial diseases-they never succumb without a severe struggle, but the red weed rotted like a thing already dead. The fronds became bleached, and then shrivelled and brittle. They broke off at the least touch, and the waters that had stimulated their early growth carried their last vestiges out to sea'.

Extract from The War Of The Worlds by H.G Wells

The Red Creeper, Porthtowan, Spring 2020 | C-Type Digital Print | POA |

H. G. Wells imagined an advanced but ailing alien race struggling to survive on their own cooling, drying planet. The Earth seemed the perfect place to colonise, rich with life and covered in plentiful water. My own longing to become immersed back in the sea during the COVID-19 pandemic become tainted with virus paranoia and invading eschatological ideas. When lockdown measures were relaxed, I took coastal walks amongst Gutweed (Ulva intestinalis). This common type of seaweed is found along the Cornish coast. I saw its beauty in a new light. I also felt its invading presence. I imagined it coloured red, not vibrant green. It took on new contemporary relevance.

Beaches include Porthtowan, Polurrian Cove, Coverack, Godrevy, Prussia Cove (Cornwall),

The Red Creeper, Porthtowan, Summer 2020 | C-Type Digital Print | POA |

All across the world, the plastic pollution problem has become very visible. Hughes has travelled far and wide making work about this subject matter for over 25 years. Covid-19 has given him a new perspective on the subject of waste, viruses, and the beach. Inspired by the H. G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds, Hughes created a new series of photographs. Well’s imagined an advanced but ailing alien race struggling to survive on a cooling, drying planet, for the aliens, the Earth seemed the perfect place to colonise, rich with life and covered in plentiful water. Brought along with the aliens was a plant called the red creeper or the red weed, when exposed to water, it grew and reproduced flooding the countryside, and clogging streams and rivers. Much like Covid-19, this virus has invaded lives and destroyed economies and will through the increased production of single-use throw-away items of PPP also wreak new havoc on the wider environment.

The Red Creeper, Porthtowan, Summer 2020 | C-Type Digital Print | POA |