From issue: #8 The Graduate Issue 2020
Elliott Cole (born 1985) is a photographer based in the UK whose documentary-based and research-led projects focus on social and environmental issues. His most recent project, A Hull to Hold the Waves at Bay, considers how society is addressing mental health issues. Cole contemplates how people engage with the natural environment and whether such interactions can reduce the impact of symptoms of mental illness.
The images in A Hull to Hold the Waves at Bay feature human subjects, often captured in natural settings. The time Cole spent making the photographs allowed him to interact with his subjects and to adopt a more collaborative approach to image making. For the artist, the project is also a journey of self-exploration, as inevitably his own experiences have combined with the stories of the people depicted. Overall, the series juxtaposes the momentary calm, warmth and fleeting clarity afforded by coping strategies with the difficulties and frustrations encountered along the way.
Elliot Cole pursued an MA in photography at the University of the West of England.
