Zerrin Asir
Zerrin’s art practice focuses on the damp, hidden and ever evolving underbellies of nature. These parts of nature are widely overlooked and do not fit into the general “idealistic” perceptions of nature, not your blooming flowers, fresh rainfall or sunsets. Zerrin’s subjects would fall more into the “un-idealistic” category. With photography Zerrin explores what she refers to as these other-worldly landscapes, capturing them from her own perspective. This often results in an abstraction where the viewer is left questioning the scale and subject of the image.
In this two-part series Zerrin has photographed a large alga covered pond in Folkstone Gardens, Deptford. Passing by the pond most days on her bike, it always captures her attention with its serenity and wildly overgrown moss. A mostly peaceful green space trapped within the busy outlands of South East London. Folkstone Gardens was created during the 1970s on an area that was badly damaged by bombs during the WWII. The pond is located in the centre of the gardens and was drained earlier this year due to neglect and rat infestation. The Veolia Environment Trust raised 75k in 2018 to overhaul the pond. Now thanks to the trust and the money that was raised the pond was recently restored. The new pond is deeper, with more surface area, and a new wetland zone which will encourage greater biodiversity to the park.
