Alan McFetridge, photographic artist and researcher

Alan McFetridge is a photographic artist and researcher from Aotearoa/New Zealand, based in London. His practice examines landscape fire, ecological transformation and public memory through long-term photographic fieldwork, artist books, exhibitions and interdisciplinary research.

Since 2016, his work has investigated the consequences of catastrophic wildfire and the cultural and ecological relationships between people and fire. His field research spans Canada, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Major projects include On The Line (2019) and Fire North: Book One (forthcoming, 2026).

Alongside his independent practice, McFetridge develops artist residencies, site-responsive exhibitions and public programmes in collaboration with cultural institutions, researchers and community organisations. His ongoing residency with Daisy Green Collection in Holland Park, London, brings together photography, exhibitions, workshops and public engagement with urban ecology.

He is also Founder and Director of the Centre for Ecological Philosophy, an artist-led platform connecting ecological research, cultural dialogue and public engagement.

Biography

In 2016, Alan McFetridge received the Royal Photographic Society Environmental Awareness Bursary, supporting his photographic fieldwork in Fort McMurray, Alberta, following the Horse River Wildfire. This research led to On The Line (2019), a photographic book examining the aftermath of the fire, and the continuing development of Fire North: Aftermath, an extensive photographic archive and monograph documenting the changing landscape and its communities.

His subsequent field studies have examined catastrophic wildfire, cultural burning and ecological regeneration across Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Greece and the United Kingdom. These projects bring together large-format photography, environmental history, experimental photographic processes and interdisciplinary research.

McFetridge's work has been presented through exhibitions, publications and academic programmes, including the Royal Photographic Society, Johns Hopkins University and the Association for Art History Annual Conference. In 2021, he contributed The Dual Capacity of Fire to Seeing Fire: Perspectives through Art and Science, an Arts Cabinet initiative developed in collaboration with the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society. In 2026, he presented his research at the Centre's Summer Conference at Imperial College London. His photographic series Songs of the Dead was published in Sophia Journal. His work received five nominations for the Prix Pictet Fire cycle, and he was a finalist for the International Marianne Brandt Award, Connectedness – Experiments on a New Relationship with Nature.

Alongside his independent photographic projects, McFetridge has developed collaborative exhibitions, artist residencies and public programmes connecting artistic practice with ecological research. His work with the Daisy Green Collection in Holland Park and the Centre for Ecological Philosophy extends these investigations into shared spaces of public participation and dialogue.

Across these activities, his practice asks how photography can deepen attention to ecological transformation and contribute to changing relationships between people and landscape. A central concern remains how societies might relearn 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.
Group exhibition, Leverhulme Wildfires Summer Conference 2026, 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.

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.
Selected for the John Kobal Portrait Prize exhibition, National Portrait Gallery, London.
Featured in The RPS Journal, May 2001.
AN for Artists, interview.

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Alan McFetridge Photography Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number  8174116 and VAT registration number 140932236