Shadow of the Valley of Death explores places and spaces which are now inhabited as a result of conflicts. Seeking to photograph a place that’s impossible to access physically led me to use Google Maps and Google Earth. The first places I looked at were Kantubek (evacuated after a chemical leak) and Prypiat (the village by Chernobyl) and I realised that they showcased a similar pattern of destruction. I went on to create a list of nuclear tests sites, found their coordinates, then photographed them. Alongside photographing these ‘non-spaces’, I collected information to create graphs showing, for example, the number of tests per year worldwide and the strength of the bombs tested. Using a red pen I transferred these graphs onto the prints. Replacing the usual name and date of the picture with a graph prevents the viewer from directly identifying the subject.

The title Shadow of the Valley of Death refers to Roger Fenton’s photograph taken in April 1855 during the Crimean War of a desolate ravine in the Crimea, known as the Valley of the Shadow of Death.