La Primavera.
My first impression of the allotment was a sense of life, beauty, and a feeling of new beginnings. These sentiments are reflected in La Primavera which captures the freshness of an early spring morning, with the light shining through the tall, straight trees.
When I engaged with the allotment I discovered that they are relaxing and refreshing places. My approach was documentary in style; I photographed stopping my subjects from working or in mid action and recorded the day-to-day activity on an allotment. My desire was to capture the essence of the people and the space, by isolating and preserving a brief moment, which encapsulated a mood and portrayed individuals in their own environment.
The overlying aim of my work is to communicate significant facts about the women and their surroundings, and their desire to cultivate whilst being in harmony with nature. Showing the type of place the allotments are at the start of the season, early spring illustrating the difficulty and hardship that these women experienced in cultivating their plot.
This project is a social documentary of Women in their allotments in Hayling Island and the surrounding areas. I am interested in investigating the use of land within urban areas in this part of the country and have concentrated specifically on allotments cultivated by women. In this part of the country the allotment availability is somewhat limited; there is an average three-year waiting list.
Allotment gardening suffers due to low political priority in terms of financial investment; however the proponents are highly enthusiastic both locally and nationally on the benefits an allotment provides. Central government has come to the conclusion that allotment gardening can be used to alleviate a number of modern day issues such as habitat destruction and reductions in biodiversity, as well as a plethora of health and lifestyle failings.
Pietro Rocchiccioli