When a human leaves a place, nature will take it back. In the area around Northchurch Road and Northchurch Terrace, in the middle of the streets, there is an abandoned section of brownfield.

Wild grass and plants share this little space, but now they are demanding more. They are starting to grow out of the appointed area, occupying the streets in silence. Human architecture and places of habitation are usually reclaimed by nature after people abandon them.

Will this happen in this instance, or will the humans intervene and tame this wild space? Northchurch Forest documents the beginning of something might happen.

This research project is based on two years of my firsthand daily observations in a neighbourhood in Hackney. In cities, there are some carefully managed artificial wild landscapes, like Hampstead Heath, and there are also functional shrubberies designed by local council gradually being taken over by nature on the streets of neighbourhoods. While exploring the impact of climate change on the Earth, I feel that humanity seems to underestimate the power of nature.

The object of conquest and being conquered is not fixed, and the struggle between humans and nature occurs simultaneously. The images in this project are printed on a special material that I made from the soil of shrubberies growth, reflecting the relationship between urban development and nature.

Artist Bio
Rontgen is a London-based photographer who focuses on landscape and botanical photography. With a background in commercial photography, Rontgen is turning to explore the metaphorical qualities of objects. Often inspired by nature, Rontgen also experiments with different organic mediums, combining cyanotype and ceramic, to further express her creative vision. Rontgen also formed a fine art photographer duo Sphene Ron.