Alan McFetridge, photographic artist and researcher

Alan McFetridge is a photographic artist and researcher from Aotearoa/New Zealand, based in London. His work examines landscape fire, ecology, climate change and public memory through photography, books, exhibitions, field research and public programming.

His long-term projects consider how communities live with fire and how photographic practice can contribute to ecological understanding, public memory and cultural repair. Working across Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Greece, Turkey and the UK, McFetridge brings together field photography, environmental history, fire science and collaboration with artists, researchers and community partners.

Alan McFetridge standing beside a large framed photograph from Fire North: Book One, showing the aftermath of the Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta, Canada. Studio portrait, 2026. — Alan McFetridge with *My sorrow comes at dawn*, 2017
From *Fire North: Book One*, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Studio portrait, 2026.

Biography

Alan McFetridge is a visual artist and researcher whose work examines the global impact of landscape fire, ecological change and public memory. His projects combine photography, environmental history, field research and collaboration with communities, artists, scientists and cultural institutions.

In 2016, McFetridge was awarded the Royal Photographic Society Environmental Awareness Bursary, enabling fieldwork in Fort McMurray, Alberta, after the Horse River Wildfire. This work became the foundation for On The Line and the long-term project Fire North: Book One, a photographic monograph on the aftermath of one of the most significant urban wildfires in modern Canadian history.

His field studies have taken him to Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Greece, Turkey and the UK. Across these sites, McFetridge has worked with the aftermath of wildfire, Indigenous fire knowledge, experimental burns, satellite imagery, photographic publication and public ecological reflection.

McFetridge’s work has been presented through exhibitions, books, talks and academic contexts. His photographic series Songs of the Dead was published in Sophia Journal, and he has presented research at the Association for Art History Annual Conference and Johns Hopkins University. His work has received five Prix Pictet nominations and he was a finalist for the International Marianne Brandt Award for Connectedness – Experiments on a New Relationship with Nature.

His practice continues to ask how photography can help people look carefully at fire, landscape and ecological transformation. The central message of the work remains: we must relearn how to live with fire.

Selected Exhibitions, Publications and Recognition

2026
Under This One Tree, solo exhibition, Daisy Green Collection Artist Residency, Holland Park, London.
Horse River Wildfire 10th Anniversary commemoration exhibition, Jubilee Building, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.
Research presentation, Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society, Imperial College London.
Fire North: Book One, The Aftermath, forthcoming artist monograph.
Sensing Earth & Being Nature, public programme of exhibitions, workshops and ecological encounters, Holland Park and Parliament Hill, London.

2025
WINTER, exhibition, Holland Park Café, London.
Organiser and presenter, Reimagining Power and Futures, Liviana 2025.
Ecological Visual Artist of the Year, Greater London Enterprise Awards, SME News.
Nature (Mother): Atlas of Interconnected Landscape Practices, founder and curator, Centre for Ecological Philosophy, in partnership with Metalabel.

2024
Songs of the Dead, solo exhibition, Lauderdale House, London.
Intersectional Grammar: Trees, group exhibition, Hackney Gallery, London.
Autumn, exhibition with Robyn Litchfield, Holland Park Café, London, curated by Justin Hibbs.
Judge, Environmental Category, Association of Photographers Photography Awards, UK.

2023
Founder and Director, Centre for Ecological Philosophy.
National Portrait Gallery / Daisy Green Collection archive project, London.

2022
Finalist, International Marianne Brandt Award: Connectedness – Experiments on a New Relationship with Nature.
Nominee, Falling Walls Breakthrough of the Year, Art and Science category.
Guest lecture, Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Museum, Culture in Crisis.
Songs of the Dead, published in Sophia Journal: Landscapes of Care in Unstable Territories, University of Porto.
Royal Photographic Society International Photography Exhibition 162, Museum of Gloucester.
Selected for London Creative Network.

2021
Prix Pictet Fire cycle, five nominations.
Climates of Colonialism, Association for Art History Annual Conference, UK.
Royal Photographic Society International Photography Exhibition 162, RPS Gallery, Bristol.
Interview, The RPS Journal, with Kathleen Morgan.

2020
Wonder & Dread, Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, Australia.
On The Line, selected for Fotobook Festival Oslo.
Royal Photographic Society International Photography Exhibition 162, touring exhibitions at Beverley Art Gallery and Oriel Art Gallery, Theatr Clwyd.
Artist talks, Royal Photographic Society and Norwich University of the Arts.
On The Line, featured in the British Library Christmas Blog.

2019
On The Line, photobook published by Here Sue, first edition of 1,000.
Solo exhibition and book launch, Wedge Gallery, Sydney, Australia.
After the Fire: Signs of Life Amid the Ashes, feature in The Guardian Australia.
Feature, The RPS Journal.

2018
Blatna Foto Festival, Czech Republic.
Interview and photographic feature, The RPS Journal.

2017
Syngenta Photography Award: Grow/Conserve, Somerset House, London.
Royal Photographic Society 160th International Print Exhibition.
On The Line, Super 8 short film.
Feature, The RPS Journal.

2016
Royal Photographic Society Environmental Awareness Bursary.
LeBook Berlin Creative Awards, selected personal project.
Sunday Best, publication.

2015
Royal Photographic Society 158th International Print Exhibition.
Hidden in Plain Sight, Norwich University of the Arts.
Judge, Australia's Top Emerging Photographers.

2014
Flat 15 | 12 Balfron Tower, Bow Arts, London.
Shortlisted, Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

2013
Composites, solo exhibition, Long White Cloud Gallery, London.
Interview, Capture Magazine, Australia.

2012
2x2 and Disappearing Act, solo exhibitions, Long White Cloud Gallery, London.

2011
Blink, East London PhotoMonth.
Into the Wild, Long White Cloud Gallery, London.
Jungle City, publication.

2009
Royal Photographic Society International Print Exhibition.
Lens Modern Exposed, Daylight Zone Studios, London.
Speaker, Raw Canvas, Tate Britain, London.

2007–2008
Selected for Communication Arts Photography Annual, Photo District News Photography Annual and 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide, Lürzer's Archive.

2006
Because You're Worth It, g&A Studios, Sydney, Australia.
Judges' Choice, The Awards, Association of Photographers.
Cones of Zonact, publication.

2005
Unrealised Projects, Vol. 3, publication, Australia.
Communication Arts Photography Annual 46.

2004
Silver Award, Association of Photographers 21st Photographers' Awards.
Featured in Creative Review and 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide.

2002
Work published in The Association of Photographers 19th Awards.

2001
Silver Medal, Royal Photographic Society 144th International Print Exhibition.
John Kobal Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London.
Featured in The RPS Journal, May 2001.
AN for Artists, interview.

Chronology graphic mapping Alan McFetridge’s artistic practice from 2013 to 2023, including fieldwork in Aotearoa, Australia, Greece and the UK; the Fire North and Songs of the Dead projects; On The Line; Prix Pictet nominations. — **Above: Alan McFetridge, practice chronology, 2013–2023**
Mapping fieldwork, publications, exhibitions, awards, nominations and the development of the Centre for Ecological Philosophy.