If awarded the £10,000 Dover Prize bursary, I would use the funding to develop ‘The Ecological Wetroom’ — a mobile, sustainable photographic lab and growing learning space that explores the potential of circular photographic practice in the age of the climate crisis. This project extends my commitment to cameraless photography by recycling cyanotype washwater through living plant systems, which simultaneously purify water and provide plant specimens for new cyanotypes, forming a closed-loop cycle of image-making.
The cyanotype process, first invented by British scientist Sir John Herschel in 1842, is historically rooted yet open to ecological reinvention. My work reimagines this 19th-century technique for the Anthropocene, using biodegradable chemistry and recyclable paper to reduce waste. ‘The Ecological Wetroom’ acts not only as a print lab but as an ecological microcosm that integrates sustainable materials, environmental care, and the ethics of slowness and regeneration.
The bursary would support the design and construction of the Wetroom, including infrastructure for water filtration through constructed wetlands and plant beds. It would also fund travel and field research with scientists and sustainable photography specialists, enabling me to ground the project in interdisciplinary knowledge and refine its ecological impact. Additional funding would be used to source materials, develop educational resources, and support experimental testing.
This award would mark a major step-change in my practice, allowing me to expand from individual works to a systemic, research-led model that merges environmental science, creative process, and social engagement. It would provide the necessary time and support to build a functional, sustainable platform for future work and collaboration.
For the final exhibition in Darlington, I propose presenting ‘The Ecological Wetroom’ as both installation and working lab — bringing the process to life for the public, and sparking conversations around art, ecology, and sustainability in ways that are both experimental and practical.
Darlington, like much of the Tees Valley, faces increasing climate-related pressures including wetter winters, flash flooding, and pressure on wetland ecosystems and soil health. My ‘The Ecological Wetroom’ responds directly to these regional concerns by creating a mobile, sustainable lab for making circular, cameraless cyanotypes that recycle washwater through natural filtration and plant uptake, mirroring the ecological functions of Tees Valley wetlands and green infrastructure.
By collaborating with local scientists, schools, and community growers, I aim to turn this project into an open space for climate-conscious creativity — one that connects art, ecology, and public engagement. Its roots in Darlington will help raise awareness of how creative practice can contribute to environmental resilience. Exhibiting this work locally —featuring living systems, regional water samples, and biodegradable photographic prints — can help spark new conversations around sustainability, innovation, and the arts.
The Ecological Wetroom will act not only as an art installation but as a living classroom and ecological demonstrator, aligning with Darlington’s goals of climate adaptation and public engagement, while enriching its contemporary arts profile with work that is ambitious, experimental, and deeply site-responsive.
About My Practice: – I am an artist working with analogue and cameraless photography. – My work focuses on ecology, sustainability, and slow, process-based image-making. – I use 19th-century techniques like cyanotype, updated with environmentally friendly materials. – I explore how humans, non-humans, and the land are connected, especially during the climate crisis. Recent, Current & Upcoming Exhibitions: 2025 – Photo Frome 2025, Frome, UK – Plant Power, Groundwork Gallery, King’s Lynn – selected by Dr Veronica Sekules – Select/25, Photofusion, London – selected by Christiane Monarchi 2024 – Vintage Photo Festival, Bydgoszcz, Poland – selected by Dr Katarzyna Gębarowska – Symbiosis II, LAPC, London – selected by Ky Lewis – BIG 20 Exhibition, OVADA, Oxford – Salon/24, Photofusion, London – selected by Christiane Monarchi 2023 – The London Group Open 2023, Copeland Gallery, London – Shoal Residents Exhibition, Island Darkroom, Achmore, Scotland – Artist in Residence Exhibition, Galerie Kruse, Flensburg, Germany – Tsundoku Art Book Fair, Dublin 2022 – Rotlicht Festival, Vienna – joint winner – RWA 169 Annual Open Exhibition, Bristol – HALFTONE, The Library Project, Dublin – Extraction: Loss and Restoration, King’s Lynn – Black Swan Arts Open 2022, Frome – PhotoIreland Festival 2022, Dublin – Bath Photo Festival, Bath – Rotterdam Photo Festival: The Human Blueprint, Netherlands – Climanosco: Oceans on the Rise, Schaffhausen, Switzerland 2021–2020 – Health and the Climate & Ecological Emergency, UCLH, London – Rotlicht Festival, Vienna – joint winner – Salon/21, Photofusion, London – Photo Fringe 2020: TAKE/MAKE, Brighton – Earth Photo 2020, Royal Geographical Society, London Earlier Highlights – 190th & 189th Annual Exhibition, RHA, Dublin – Creekside Open 2019, London – selected by Sacha Craddock – Art Brussels 2016, selected by Frederic de Goldschmidt – Goldsmiths MFA Degree Show 2015, London – FloatArt London 2015, Bargehouse, London
Do you have a degree in visual or applied arts at undergraduate and/or post-graduate level? Please provide details. (200 words)
Yes, I hold both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in visual arts, with a focus on photography and fine art. I completed a BA (Hons) in Photography at the Technological University Dublin (formerly DIT) in 2009. My studies there provided a strong foundation in both historical and contemporary photographic practices, with early exposure to analogue processes that continue to influence my work today. During this time, I also received the NIAVAC Best Lens-Based Award at the Royal Ulster Academy, which affirmed my interest in experimental and process-led photography. In 2015, I earned an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, University of London, where I was mentored by leading contemporary artists including Dr Elizabeth Price, Grayson Perry, Laure Prouvost, and Mark Leckey. The MFA programme deepened my critical approach to image-making and allowed me to situate my practice within wider discourses around ecology, care, and post-anthropocentric thinking. These qualifications have been central to the evolution of my interdisciplinary, research-led practice and support my ongoing work as both a practising artist and educator.
Yes, I hold both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in visual arts, with a focus on photography and fine art.
I completed a BA (Hons) in Photography at the Technological University Dublin (formerly DIT) in 2009. My studies there provided a strong foundation in both historical and contemporary photographic practices, with early exposure to analogue processes that continue to influence my work today. During this time, I also received the NIAVAC Best Lens-Based Award at the Royal Ulster Academy, which affirmed my interest in experimental and process-led photography.
In 2015, I earned an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, University of London, where I was mentored by leading contemporary artists including Dr Elizabeth Price, Grayson Perry, Laure Prouvost, and Mark Leckey. The MFA programme deepened my critical approach to image-making and allowed me to situate my practice within wider discourses around ecology, care, and post-anthropocentric thinking.
These qualifications have been central to the evolution of my interdisciplinary, research-led practice and support my ongoing work as both a practising artist and educator.
In 2025, I was awarded a Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) grant from Arts Council England, which is partly funding the research and construction of The Ecological Wetroom. I also received a Creative Award from SANE, which specifically supports artists living with long-term or chronic health conditions, and a Realisation Grant from the Centre for British Photography, supporting the production and public dissemination of this project. Additionally, I was awarded a FUTURES online mentoring bursary and NorthLink Ferries Sponsorship to support travel and research between Scotland and mainland UK.
Previous awards include the Paul Mellon Centre Research Support Grant (2024) for studies into early British photographic cyanotype practices, and the Denis Roussel Award (Work of Merit) in 2023, which recognised my innovation in sustainable darkroom methods. I was also shortlisted for the Vintage Grand Prix 2024 and joint winner of the Rotlicht Festival in both 2021 and 2022.
Earlier in my career, I received multiple Travel and Training Awards from the Irish Arts Council and was a finalist in the Signature Art Prize, Earth Photo, and the Henry Moore Dissertation Prize.
Over the past three years, I have independently developed and delivered a series of international workshops, talks, and public engagement events focused on ecological, cameraless, and analogue image-making. These have taken place across diverse contexts — from galleries and festivals to rural residencies and community centres — demonstrating a flexible, self-organised approach to practice-led education.
In 2024–2025 alone, I facilitated workshops at Photofusion (London), Open Eye Gallery (Liverpool), OVADA (Oxford), Groundwork Gallery (King’s Lynn), Galerie Kruse (Germany), and the Rotlicht Festival (Vienna), among others. Many of these were developed through my own networks and initiated independently in collaboration with local organisations. These events allow me to share sustainable photographic methods such as eco-friendly cyanotypes and mobile darkroom techniques with artists, students, and the public.
Through this work, I have created temporary learning spaces and professional platforms for others while building my own networks and knowledge exchange. These artist-led initiatives are central to my emerging practice, helping me foster a community of environmentally aware image-makers and generate opportunities that would not otherwise exist within traditional institutional structures.
While I have not yet been directly commissioned by a public institution, I have received funding through open calls and public grants to create and exhibit work with a specific narrative and purpose.
For example, my work has been acquired by the NHS Foundation Trust (UK) and the Office of Public Works (Ireland) following the successful completion of funded projects that aligned with their values and collection aims. These works explored themes of ecological care, mental health, and climate-responsive image-making, using sustainable methods such as seawater cyanotypes and plant-developed prints.
In 2024, I received a Research Support Grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, which enabled the development of a new body of work rooted in historical British photographic cyanotype processes and their reinvention through sustainable chemistry. Though not a formal commission, this publicly funded research was carried out with a clear brief and led to publicly accessible outcomes.
These opportunities — secured through open calls and competitive applications — have allowed me to develop site-responsive work for public contexts and demonstrate my readiness for future commissioned projects with public institutions.
In the UK, my work was acquired by the NHS Foundation Trust as part of an initiative to bring meaningful, environmentally conscious art into healthcare environments. The works explore themes of care, time, and recovery through sustainable cameraless photographic processes, such as cyanotypes made with rain and seawater on archival watercolour paper.
In Ireland, my work was acquired by the Office of Public Works (OPW) for inclusion in their national public art collection. The selected works reflect my ongoing engagement with ecological vulnerability and the visual languages of climate change, created using low-impact, analogue methods including plant-based chemistry and recycled materials.
These acquisitions reflect the growing institutional recognition of environmentally responsible photography and affirm the value of my process-led, research-based practice. Both acquisitions followed successful participation in open calls and funded projects, which were developed in response to wider public themes such as sustainability, health, and place-based practice.
In addition to these public holdings, my work is also included in several private and gallery collections across Europe, including Galerie Kruse (Germany), IBASHO Gallery (Belgium), and the collection of Frederic de Goldschmidt (Belgium).
In 2025, my practice was profiled in Source Photographic Review (Issue 177), where Irish writer Susan Galbraith discussed current trends in research-led photography, highlighting The Ecological Wetroom as an example of sustainable, process-based image-making. The article focused on the integration of care ethics, environmental urgency, and material innovation in my work.
In 2024, I was included in PHmuseum’s (Italy) A Guide to Ecological Thinking in Photography Vol. 3, which examined artists working at the intersection of art and environmental responsibility. My contribution focused on circular photographic practices and slow, collaborative processes.
My work has also been published in Camera Austria International (Issue 165), which included pages from my cameraless series made during residencies in Scotland and Spain. Additional features include publications by Conveyor Studios (The New Geological Epoch, 2024) and inclusion in multiple Rotlicht Festival catalogues (2021–2024), which document my participation in this leading European festival for analogue photography.
These features demonstrate growing critical recognition of my work across both academic and visual art contexts, especially concerning ecological innovation and sustainable photographic methods.
While I am not currently represented by a gallery in a formal, ongoing capacity, I have developed strong relationships with several galleries through exhibitions, residencies, and acquisitions.
My work has been collected by IBASHO Gallery (Belgium), which specialises in experimental photography. My cameraless cyanotype works were included in curated selections and are held in their collection. I also maintain an active relationship with Galerie Kruse (Germany), where I was an artist-in-residence in 2023. During this time, I produced a site-responsive body of work and led public workshops on sustainable photographic practices. Galerie Kruse continues to support and exhibit my work, and several pieces have been acquired for their collection.
Additionally, my work has been shown at institutions such as Photofusion (London) and Groundwork Gallery (King’s Lynn), through open calls and curated exhibitions. These collaborations continue to open up opportunities for expanded visibility and engagement with gallery audiences.
While not under exclusive representation, these relationships reflect the ongoing institutional and curatorial interest in my work, especially in the context of climate-conscious image-making and process-led ecological art. I remain open to future representation that aligns with the values and direction of my practice.
In 2025, I was selected for a residency with the Finnish Darkroom Association in Helsinki, where I explored plant-based printing chemistry and sustainable darkroom workflows. In 2024, I participated in Le Puget (France), The Grange Projects (England), and AA2A at Cambridge School of Art, a well-established UK-based artist placement scheme that places practising artists into higher education institutions.
In 2023, I was awarded a residency at JOYA: AiR in southern Spain, an internationally recognised residency for artists working with ecological themes. There, I developed site-responsive cyanotypes using drought-affected soil and local plant materials. I also completed a winter residency at Island Darkroom (Scotland), where I created sea- and rainwater prints reflecting changing coastal ecologies.
Earlier residencies include GroundWork Gallery’s AIR Programme (UK), Linkshouse Orkney Arts Residency, and Cow House Studios (Ireland), all of which support artists working at the intersection of art, environment, and place-based practice.
These residencies have been vital for experimentation, public engagement, and for embedding my practice within a broader community of artists and researchers responding to climate change.
Email: aindreasscholz81@gmail.com
Address: 15 Carpenters Court, Hampton Court, Twickenham, United Kingdom, TW2 5QJ, GB
Local Authority: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
