‘A place between fiction and reality': small town dreamscapes
Photographer Dylan Hausthor's lyrical visions delve into themes of storytelling, faith, folklore and the inherent queerness of nature. Small-town gossip, relationships to the land, the mysteries of wildlife, the drama of humanity and the unpredictability of human spectacle inspire the stories in these images and installations. What the Rain Might Bring by Dylan Hausthor is published by TBW books
Dylan Hausthor: 'I'm fascinated by the instability of storytelling and hope to enable character and landscape to act as gossip in their own right: cross-pollinating and synthesising'
Within Hausthor's untamed world, characters and landscapes become conduits, weaving together new narratives that challenge perceptions of reality
The imagery – an owl mid-flight, a procession of figures, an infant nursing at its mother's breast, a towering mushroom, spiders in their webs – paints a world where human roles feel fragile, overshadowed by the dominance of nature. Each photograph oscillates between the eerie and enchanting, the humorous and the haunting
Hausthor's photography integrates elements of ad hoc investigative journalism, disinformation and performance, disrupting traditional approaches to nature photography. The viewer is drawn into a space where the line between truth and artistic licence is deliberately blurred
Dylan Hausthor: 'I was recently visiting my home town and stopped to fill up my car. I noticed a woman sitting outside the gas station drinking coffee and recognised her as my old ballet teacher. I sat down next to her and we caught up. She had been going blind for a decade since I last saw her. She had fallen out of love, started growing a garden and found God. She had a small collection of freshly picked mushrooms next to her and handed me one, saying 'Mushrooms have no gender, did you know that?''
Cultural systems, communities bound by belief, ruralism, the ghosts that haunt landscapes and the disentangling of colonial narratives are what drive these installations, images and videos
'Two moths mating, taken as I wait for a tow truck'
'A strange field of sunflowers, ones that refused to look at the sun. Instead of drinking the sunlight, as most of their species do, this field turned their backs. This image was taken during a time I was working at a sheep farm'
'There is a time of year where the black ice is worse than ever. For a week or so, it overlaps with the time that spiders are still making webs before going into diapause'
'An exercise in care and attention that takes place at a Zen Buddhist monastery in which one person leads another around after they've dunked their head into mud' Photograph: Dylan Hausthor
The images evoke a sense of pagan, Wiccan, religious, anarchic and mystic rituals, offering a visual exploration that is at once candid and full of hidden secrets
'I hope for the viewers and readers of my work to find themselves in a space between fiction and reality – to push past questions of validity that form the base tradition of colonialism in storytelling and folklore and into a much more human sense of reality: faulted, broken and real'
Hausthor's book is named after David Arora's famed mushroom identification guide, All That the Rain Promises and More
It can be seen as an exploration of a post-fact world, where the boundaries between parable and reality dissolve, leaving the viewer to question what they believe
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
05-05-2025
- The Sun
Pop star Florence Welch forced to halt revamp plans on £1.9million estate after builders unearth SKELETONS
FLORENCE Welch's renovation plans on her £1.9million country estate have unearthed another problem - medieval skeletons. The Dog Days Are Over singer bought the sprawling estate in Somerset four years ago but has still not moved in after a series of setbacks. 3 3 Her plans to re-unify four buildings which have been separate since the 1940s have been approved by the local council. But an archaeological report says groundwork on the 12th century estate could dig-up ancient human skeletons, as well as medieval artefacts. A source close to the project said: 'Florence has owned three of the buildings and the estate for four years and is fascinated with medieval history and the history of her new home in particular. 'She knew the fourth might be coming up for sale so when she was able to buy it in 2023 she snapped it up. 'It enables her to work towards her dream of living in an ancient, gothic-style building and enjoying time away from London.' A 22-page archaeology report submitted to Somerset Council by John Moore Heritage Services says 'there is clear potential for archaeological remains dating to the medieval period'.' It adds: 'If human remains are encountered and have to be removed, they will be cleaned, recorded and lifted in accordance with a Ministry of Justice licence. 'Exhumation and post-excavation treatment will be carried out in accordance with published …All associated deposits, e.g. pyre sites, mausolea and mortuary enclosures, will also be fully investigated and excavated.' An agreement has been made with Florence, of Indie band Florence and the Machine, that she will give any historical artefacts to the Somerset Museums Service. The Grade II listed pile boasts walled landscaped gardens and a touch of history. The property has over fifty rooms across three floors and a swimming pool. Florence, 38, has had a lifelong fascination with historical buildings. She told Vogue magazine in 2011: 'I really want a gothic castle, or a church, but I haven't had time because I've only been home for two weeks in the last year.' The bohemian singer is known for her spirituality, which should come in handy with the rumoured resident ghost. The buildings, near the trendy celebrity heavy town of Frome and posh members club Babbington House, are believed to be haunted by a lady in grey. Local folklore says the ghoulish figure was first seen in the 1970s. Raised a Catholic, the songwriter describes herself as agnostic, meaning she believes nothing can be known about the existence of any god. Her lyrics often centre around the supernatural, the occult, witchcraft, pagan practices, and Wiccan traditions, who use magic to honour the elements and cycles of nature. The Sun has contacted reps for Florence for comment. Lewis Capaldi sees cost of revamping 'money pit' mansion soar over £1million By Kevin Duguid LEWIS Capaldi has seen the cost of revamping his 'money pit' mansion soar to more than £1million. The rising bill is on top of the £1.6million the singer, 28, forked out for the farmhouse in 2020. We told how he is due to splash £738,000 on an extension at his country home just outside Glasgow. And paperwork submitted to planning chiefs has now revealed work on a triple garage and office is valued at £360,000. That means a total for improvements of almost £1.1million. But the final tab could be even higher after the Someone You Loved star put in proposals in March to build a music studio at the ten-acre estate. A source said last night: 'At this rate he'll have spent more doing it up than he paid for it. 'He's making the place his own and it should be a good investment in the long run.' Details of the latest costs emerged in a building standards warrant for the garage submitted to East Renfrewshire Council. Lewis got permission to build it last year but needs the warrant to be approved before work can begin. He snapped up the rural property after fellow chart-topper Ed Sheeran scoured the internet looking for a place for him. 3
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- The Guardian
‘A place between fiction and reality': small town dreamscapes
Photographer Dylan Hausthor's lyrical visions delve into themes of storytelling, faith, folklore and the inherent queerness of nature. Small-town gossip, relationships to the land, the mysteries of wildlife, the drama of humanity and the unpredictability of human spectacle inspire the stories in these images and installations. What the Rain Might Bring by Dylan Hausthor is published by TBW books Dylan Hausthor: 'I'm fascinated by the instability of storytelling and hope to enable character and landscape to act as gossip in their own right: cross-pollinating and synthesising' Within Hausthor's untamed world, characters and landscapes become conduits, weaving together new narratives that challenge perceptions of reality The imagery – an owl mid-flight, a procession of figures, an infant nursing at its mother's breast, a towering mushroom, spiders in their webs – paints a world where human roles feel fragile, overshadowed by the dominance of nature. Each photograph oscillates between the eerie and enchanting, the humorous and the haunting Hausthor's photography integrates elements of ad hoc investigative journalism, disinformation and performance, disrupting traditional approaches to nature photography. The viewer is drawn into a space where the line between truth and artistic licence is deliberately blurred Dylan Hausthor: 'I was recently visiting my home town and stopped to fill up my car. I noticed a woman sitting outside the gas station drinking coffee and recognised her as my old ballet teacher. I sat down next to her and we caught up. She had been going blind for a decade since I last saw her. She had fallen out of love, started growing a garden and found God. She had a small collection of freshly picked mushrooms next to her and handed me one, saying 'Mushrooms have no gender, did you know that?'' Cultural systems, communities bound by belief, ruralism, the ghosts that haunt landscapes and the disentangling of colonial narratives are what drive these installations, images and videos 'Two moths mating, taken as I wait for a tow truck' 'A strange field of sunflowers, ones that refused to look at the sun. Instead of drinking the sunlight, as most of their species do, this field turned their backs. This image was taken during a time I was working at a sheep farm' 'There is a time of year where the black ice is worse than ever. For a week or so, it overlaps with the time that spiders are still making webs before going into diapause' 'An exercise in care and attention that takes place at a Zen Buddhist monastery in which one person leads another around after they've dunked their head into mud' Photograph: Dylan Hausthor The images evoke a sense of pagan, Wiccan, religious, anarchic and mystic rituals, offering a visual exploration that is at once candid and full of hidden secrets 'I hope for the viewers and readers of my work to find themselves in a space between fiction and reality – to push past questions of validity that form the base tradition of colonialism in storytelling and folklore and into a much more human sense of reality: faulted, broken and real' Hausthor's book is named after David Arora's famed mushroom identification guide, All That the Rain Promises and More It can be seen as an exploration of a post-fact world, where the boundaries between parable and reality dissolve, leaving the viewer to question what they believe
The Guardian
05-03-2025
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Tamara Lawrance is an ace detective in a Jamaica-set thriller
9pm, Channel 4 A brilliant, textured crime thriller from Booker prize-winner Marlon James. Millie-Jean Black (Tamara Lawrance) grew up in Jamaica, until her abusive mother sent her to live in London. News of her beloved brother's death sends Millie on a personal mission to become an ace Scotland Yard detective. But when her mother also dies, a discovery in her papers compels Millie to return to Jamaica and join Kingston's police force. She is put on the case of a missing girl with partner Curtis (Gershwyn Eustache Jr), when Scotland Yard inspector Luke Holborn (Joe Dempsie) arrives with his own agenda. There's plenty of action, but the personal conflicts with her past will keep you gripped, too. Hollie Richardson 7pm, BBC Two A man who, it could be said, never looked comfortable as prime minister and has been swiftly forgotten returns for a two-part interview with Nick Robinson. Sunak, who has a new job in the US alongside his seat in the Commons, could be entertaining and enlightening. He certainly has nothing to lose by spilling some tea. . Jack Seale 9pm, ITV1 In 1955, nightclub host Ruth Ellis was the last woman in the UK to be hanged, after shooting dead her abusive lover David Blakely (Laurie Davidson) in north London. She admitted her crime to the police immediately and accepted her fate. This dark but glossy four-part drama tells her story, with Lucy Boynton playing Ruth and Toby Jones as the lawyer trying to persuade her to fight for her life. HR 9pm, BBC One Anne (Philippa Dunne) continues to be the standout comedy star in this Motherland spin-off, as she mishears 'Johannes' as 'Your highness' and thinks Amanda (Lucy Punch) is dating South African royalty. Anyway, the gang head off camping and it goes as badly as you would expect. HR 9pm, Sky Max Never mind the box sets: Beckett and his team captains, Alison Hammond and Josh Widdicombe, return for a second series of the banter-packed quiz. The talent booking is certainly on point, with prestige panellists Richard Osman, Oti Mabuse, Richard Ayoade and Danny Dyer ready to grapple with EastEnders trivia and more. Graeme Virtue 9.30pm, BBC One As Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizli's wonderfully weird, increasingly Wiccan comedy nears the end of its second series, Nic (Cooper) has doubts about her on/off bestie. If only she would listen to nine-year-old Ollie (Lenny Rush), who has seen a side to Jen (Hizli) that is less 'nice single mum' and more 'Single White Female'. Hannah J Davies Champions League football: Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool 7pm, TNT Sports 1. From Parc des Princes, Paris.
