© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
Fracking takes place underground so the effects on the ground will appear in the future. Some of the threats of the activity are the contamination of underground water, earthquakes, and tremors. Some of the local main concerns are the industrialization of the rural areas, noises of the lorries, and air pollution from flaring when excess gas is burned off. 'Hythloday' the documentary series by Spanish photographer Norberto Fernández Soriano is a project in nature, which explores the subject matter as such, and photography as a medium in relation to the first one. «The subject matter» says the Spanish photographer «is the community of environmental activists and their fight against the fracking industry. Photography is used as a means to tell their story and to challenge my own perception of the narrative possibilities of the medium itself.» 'Hythloday' then, draws on this community’s fight presenting their experience and beliefs through a visual interpretation, creating a series that is positioned between fact and fiction.
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
Initially, Norberto was intrigued by the relationship between humans and nature, its influence on the changes of the landscape, and how it would affect the way people dwell in them. When he came across fracking and the community of activists he thought it was a good stage to think about the spiritual connection with nature and the material reality on the ground. «Since the effects manifest in the long term and can't be observed on the surface, I decided to explore the community’s fight against fracking, documenting their beliefs, fears, and experiences». I wondered how he did approach this community and the activists, known as 'The Protectors' ... How to get their trust? So he started approaching them through the mail, but without anything really arranged then decided to move to their camp with his van for a week. «Getting their trust it was hard, as they are a threatened group who live on the fringe of legality, and they don’t really know who are you or what are your intentions. Listening to them and sharing my ideas about the project helped to build confidence, although as I was shooting film there was always some wariness about their identity as they couldn\'t really see what was on the pictures I was taking».
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
This kind of work certainly represents a vehicle to share the story behind this civic battle. It also leads me to think if this is a real possibility that redeems the role of the photographer? Norberto is pretty positive about it «My intention while doing this project was both, to understand the fight of this community and to understand what could be delivered through photography. To be able to communicate their beliefs it was as important as to be able to develop a narrative I thought fitted the story. Actually, what I think it could redeem is the burden of photography as an objectivity tool or as evidence of truth.»
Before jumping into photography Norberto started studying Chemical Engineering. Perhaps something of the mechanics of the world and how men, as instrumental animals, continually invent ways of transforming it, still interest him. Behind this project, there is a desire for understanding, perhaps more empathetic than a scientific method. By the way, Norberto has now found in the photographic medium the possibility of telling his own story, and the Master on photography at Bristol certainly represented a brilliant opportunity to dive deep into it within an academic cohort. helped. Although in the beginning, he says, «I was interested in the idea of becoming a photojournalist. I guess that was a mix of finding a useful outcome to photography, my perception of what photography could do, and my way to try to escape my studies commitments.» I feel 'Hythloday' is a meaningful step either way. By avoiding pointless arguments he delivers a story and voice to its main actors. «To be an activist you need to be fully engaged. Sometimes they have to make life-changing decisions and to do so you have to firmly believe in your principles. Also, in order to be successful, you need to be able to cover a wide range of needs, and this is where this group have their strength. Their heterogeneity allowed them to focus on different tasks, and show how this is a threat that could affect different parts of society.»
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
Their main concern of course is the destruction of nature and the contribution of this activity to climate change. For them, the government should be putting efforts and investing time and money on the development of renewable energy. Fortunately, fracking has shown some of the flaws of the system, and thus, this fight is supported by a heterogeneous group of people from very different backgrounds. «The cluster, formed by environmental activists and people from local communities, had their different reasons to oppose fracking; for some, it was the destruction of nature, while for others this revealed the lack of democracy or the isolation of rural communities. When fracking started and after an awareness campaign, the locals decided fracking was something they didn't want happening near to their homes.» The last release from the Government says that they are ending the support for fracking. Reading further it expands on "exploratory work, has now been paused - unless and until further evidence is provided that it can be carried out safely here". In the eyes of the community, this looks like another halt/resume strategy, and they will not stop until fracking is totally banned.
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
To develop this narrative in Hythloday, Norberto decided not to portray any of the evidence of place, time, or fracking itself. The place is used to construct an imagined post-fracking scenario. The lack of explicit details or information allows the mood to take part in this landscape. But what is 'Hythloday'? «To explore this new landscape, I focused on the sailor character from Thomas More’s Utopia, Raphael Hythloday. Utopia was a fictional story that portrayed the flaws of More’s governmental system through the depiction of an ideal organization located on a non-existent island. For my project, Raphael Hythloday became an inspiration to explore this place, and thus the book is a kind of diary of encounters of this unknown and strange place.»
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
© Norberto Fernández Soriano from the series 'Hythloday'
This work then is a visual interpretation of a particular activism fight, the project builds up a scenario, which is used as a medium to explore fracking, its possible aftermaths, and the community. We hope to meet more and more young authors capable of dedicating their energies, even creative ones, in this direction.
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