david spero

Emma and John's, Tir Ysbrydol (Spiritual Land), 

Britdir Mawr, Pembrokshire, 2004, David Spero

Settlements is a body of work that David Spero has been working on since 2004 and is only now reaching a conclusion. However, given the photographer's commitment to the project it is clear that there will be an on-going relationship with the communities he has clearly become involved with. 

The artist, who graduated from the RCA in 1993, has spent time visiting and staying at the low impact communities located throughout the UK. Set in beautiful lush green countryside and dense forests these transitory homes are timeless, as Spero describes, 'these places look like they belong in the past, but at the same time they could be a future.'

In many ways the places are as far away from the manicured lawns, gardens and driveways of suburbia as one can imagine. The structures, artfully cobbled together from local natural and recycled materials, are built in harmony with the local environment to the extent that they seem to become part of the surroundings. Spero focuses on the the evolution of the settlements that see people come and go, where children are born, grow and educated in a world where the buildings emerge in a natural, organic and ad hoc way. 

The communities work towards being as self sufficient and sustainable as possible, offering a refreshing antidote to consumer society. Camilla Brown, Senior Curator at the Photographers' Gallery described Spero's work as 'a powerful visual testimony to these people who chose to live their lives according to their ideological beliefs within a contemporary society.'