SPTA: A Landscape in Service is an ongoing photographic project that explores the profound and lasting impact of military occupation on the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA), the largest military training ground in the UK. Stretching across 390 square kilometres of chalk grassland in south-west England, SPTA has been used for military exercises since its acquisition by the War Office in 1897. Over more than a century of training, conflict and national defence, the landscape has been indelibly marked, creating a striking contrast between human intervention and natural resilience.
Through photography, the project examines the dual legacies of conflict and training imprinted on the land. The images capture both the visible scars of military infrastructure—camouflaged bunkers, firing ranges, tank tracks—and the quieter, untouched corners of the area, revealing moments of solitude and endurance. These photographs aim to shed light on the complex relationship between land, conflict and preservation, offering a meditation on how nature and military activity coexist in this constantly evolving landscape.
SPTA: A Landscape in Service serves as both a visual record and a reflection on memory, history and the quiet resilience of nature. The project is shared through various channels, including Instagram, a dedicated website and a series of small-format artists' books, inviting viewers to contemplate the enduring interplay between military occupation and the natural world.
Client: Self-initiated; Medium: Print, digital.
