Robert Darch Explained

Robert Darch
Birth Place:	Birmingham, England
Nationality:	English
Alma Mater:	University of Wales, Newport Plymouth University
Field:	Photography

Robert Darch (born 1979) is a British artist-photographer.^[1] His first book, The Moor, was published in 2018.

Life and work

Darch was born in Birmingham and grew up in Droitwich Spa.^[2] He studied Documentary Photography at University of Wales, Newport, graduating in 2004. He returned to study photography at Plymouth University in 2013 after a long period of illness, gaining a Masters in Photography & The Book and an MFA in Photographic Arts.^[3]

Darch's work was included in the book Another Country: British Documentary Photography Since 1945, by Gerry Badger and published by Thames & Hudson.^[4]

Darch resides in Devon, England, where he located the fictional town of Durlescombe, the setting for an on-going series exploring his familial attachment to this specific region of England.^[5]

The Moor (2018) depicts a fictionalised dystopian future situated on the bleak moorland landscapes of Dartmoor, Devon.^{[6] [7] [8]}

Vale (2020) reflects on a long period of ill health Darch suffered in his twenties and the isolation and loneliness he experienced because of that. Whilst he was ill he would get lost in daydream and fiction, creating imaginary worlds to temper the isolation and sadness. Vale reflects on this lost time and imagines a fictional summer spent swimming in rivers and exploring woods, underscored by a sustained sense of eeriness.

Publications

Publications by Darch

• The Moor. Another Place, 2018. . Edition of 500 copies.
• Vale. LIDO, 2020. . Edition of 750 copies.

Publications with contributions by Darch

• Portrait of Britain Vol 1. London: Hoxton Mini Press, 2018. .
• Portrait of Britain Vol 2. London: Hoxton Mini Press, 2019. .
• Portrait of Britain Vol 3. London: Hoxton Mini Press, 2020. .
• Facing Britain. Germany: Walther & Franz König, 2021. .
• Portrait of Britain Vol 4. London: Hoxton Mini Press, 2021. .
• Another Country: British Documentary Photography Since 1945. London: Thames & Hudson, 2022. .

Awards

• 2016: Portrait Salon, for "Boys on the Estuary"^[9]
• 2017: Winner, single image in Life category, Renaissance Photography Prize^[10]
• 2018: Portrait of Britain, British Journal of Photography
• 2019: Portrait of Britain, British Journal of Photography
• 2021: Portrait of Britain, British Journal of Photography

Selected solo exhibitions

• Durlescombe, Kunsthalle Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany, April 2022.^[11]

Selected group exhibitions

• Distinctly, Pingyao International Photography Festival, Pingyao, China, September 2018. Work by Darch and Martin Parr, Chris Killip, Daniel Meadows, John Myers, Markéta Luskačová, Tish Murtha, Ken Grant, Paul Seawright, Niall McDiarmid, Elaine Constantine, and Kirsty Mackay.^[12]
• Distinctly, Look Photo Biennal, Liverpool, U.K., September 2019. Work by Darch and Martin Parr, Chris Killip, Daniel Meadows, John Myers, Markéta Luskačová, Tish Murtha, Ken Grant, Niall McDiarmid and Kirsty Mackay.^[13]
• Facing Britain, Museum Goch, Germany, October 2020. Work by Darch and John Bulmer, Rob Bremner, Thom Corbishley, Anna Fox, Ken Grant, Judy Greenway, Mohamed Hassan, Paul Hill, David Hurn, Barry Lewis, Markéta Luskačová, Kirsty Mackay, Niall McDiarmid, Daniel Meadows, Peter Mitchell, Tish Murtha, John Myers, Jon Nicholson, Kevin O'Farrell, Niall McDiarmid, Martin Parr, Mark Pinder, Paul Reas, Simon Roberts, Syd Shelton, Dave Sinclair, Homer Sykes and Jon Tonks.^[14]
• Turn to Return, Bristol Photo Festival, Bristol, U.K. September 2021. Work by Darch and Helen Sear.^[15]
• Facing Britain, Kunsthalle Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany, September 2021.^[14]
• Facing Britain, Mönchehaus Museum Goslar, Goslar, Germany, February 2022.^[14]
• Facing Britain, Museum for Photography Krakow, Krakow, Poland, June 2022.^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2019-05-10. Elicia Epstein . The Work of Robert Darch . Juxtapoz.
2. Web site: 2019-05-10. Steve Bisson . Robert Darch. Connection With a Place. Uranautica.
3. Web site: 2019-05-10. Alan Williams . Photographer's named amongst UK's best emerging talent. . Plymouth University.
4. Web site: 2019-05-10 . Another Country. Thames & Hudson.
5. Web site: 2019-05-10. Ruby Boddington . Robert Darch explores identity and nostalgia through the fictitious town of Durlescombe.
6. Web site: 2019-05-10. Charlotte Jansen . A Dystopian vision of Dartmoor unfolds in Robert Darch's haunting photographs. . Wallpaper Magazine.
7. Web site: 2019-05-10. Ruby Boddington . Robert Darch's series The Moor argues that we are already living in a Dystopia .
8. Web site: 2019-05-10. Foto Room . Robert Darch constructs a fictional series set in the English Moors. .
9. News: 2019-06-17. Another shot: highlights from Portrait Salon 2016 – in pictures. The Guardian. 21 November 2016. 0261-3077. www.theguardian.com.
10. News: 2019-06-17. Renaissance photography prize 2017 – in pictures. The Guardian. 12 October 2017. 0261-3077. www.theguardian.com.
11. Web site: 2019-10-18. Robert Darch Durlescombe. 26 April 2022. Kunsthalle Darmstadt.
12. Web site: 2019-06-17. Documentary photography stars in the Distinctly show. 15 August 2018. British Journal of Photography.
13. Web site: 2019-10-18. Distinctly. 26 September 2019. Art Rabbit.
14. Web site: 2020-09-29. Facing Britain, British documentary photography since the 1960s. 29 September 2020. Institut für Kunstdokumentation und Szenografie.
15. Web site: 2019-10-18. Turn to Return. 26 September 2021. Bristol Photo Festival.