Come with Me 7, 2011 #AestheticaTakeover @elliedaviesphotography As a teenager I wanted to be a sculptor or a ceramicist. I loved the tactile nature of moulding clay and working with my hands, welding metal and using tools, but I found the process intense and solitary and by my twenties I was looking for a different way to have a creative life. Ironically, I now love to work alone, walking and carrying my kit on my back. This enables me to be independent and brings into my images the feeling of being on my own in the woods. I choose locations based on an instant feeling about a place and I prefer overcast weather or rain; I love the richness of colour and contrast when the rain saturates the foliage and the tree trunks are dark and shining. This image was made by picking stems of bracken (an invasive species in the UK) and inserting them into the soft beds of pine needles in this plantation woodland. The following autumn I installed the piece as a temporal sculpture in Heathercombe Edge Sculpture Trail in Dartmoor National Park. #ukforests #femalephotographer #bracken #pathways #desirelines #newforest #conceptualphotography #contemporaryart #uklandscape #womeninthearts #contemporaryphotography #culturallandscapes #dartmoor

Stars 5, 2016   #AestheticaTakeover @elliedaviesphotography        Ideas about forests intertwine nature and culture. Forests appear in folklore, fairy tales and myths as places of enchantment and magic, danger and mystery, sanctuary and regeneration, and in turn, these cultural preoccupations and anxieties colour the way we perceive the natural world.    The Stars series explored my desire to find some balance between a relationship with the wild places of my youth and a pervasive sense of disconnectedness from the natural world. I lived in London, and time in nature meant a visit to the local park or a weekend away so my experience of nature felt profoundly distanced.  The series addressed this distancing by drawing the viewer right into the heart of a forest which holds mystery and offers the potential for discovery and exploration whilst overlaying forest settings with images of ancient light from starscapes captured by the Hubble Telescope.    This link between the forest landscapes and the intangible and unknown universe created a juxtaposition that reflected my personal experiences of the forest - its physicality and tactility set against a profound and fundamental otherness, an alienation that separates us, in a broader sense too, from a truly immersive relationship with the natural world.   #stars #galaxy #hubbletelescope #ukforests #conceptualphotography #contemporaryart  #uklandscape #womenphotographers #contemporaryphotography #culturallandscapes

Come with Me 2, 2011   #AestheticaTakeover @elliedaviesphotography         Hello, this is Ellie Davies.     I am a UK-based photographer working in the South of England, creating images that explore my relationship with woodlands and more broadly, how we develop our understanding of landscapes in a wider context.   My connection with woodlands began in early childhood when I used to walk with my family in the ancient forest surrounding our home. It was a place of adventure and exploration, where we built dens, foraged, studied plants and birds, dammed streams, and cycled. Later, when I moved to London, I greatly missed the outdoors, particularly the woods. This longing to reconnect with nature and find my place within it became an important part of my work and continues to inform it today.   The "Come with Me" series, created in 2010, was an experimental and highly enjoyable project. I used craft materials woven through woodland settings, creating temporary and non-invasive interventions that traced an imaginary path through the woods, guiding the viewer into the space and prompting them to reflect on their own relationship with forests.   #newforest #conceptualphotography #contemporaryart #uklandscape #womenphotographers #contemporaryphotography #culturallandscapes #craftmaterials #bracken #flour #pathways

#SubmitYourWork to the Aesthetica Art Prize – a platform for the world's best artists. @beckyprobert uses the camera lens to explore the possibilities of what exists in the vastness of outer space, employing both analogue and digital techniques. We celebrate all forms of contemporary art. Win £10,000 prize money, publication and exhibition at a major public gallery. Enter by 31 August. Link in bio to find out more.

#ExhibitionPicks Plastic SOUP | @centre_for_british_photography For the past decade @mandybarkerphotography has engaged in conversations about ocean waste, creating stark images of discarded plastic found on global shores. Discover the latest news, exhibition picks and gallery reviews in every issue of Aesthetica. Shop Now.

Issue 113 | @alexej.sachov The photographer documents an emerging species of aquatic creature: the result of chance collisions between plastic pollutants in the deep. Discover new talent and key artists pushing the boundaries in every issue of Aesthetica. Shop Now.

“Humanity is on a mass-migration from the natural to the digital world." Last words in the June / July issue of Aesthetica go to @lifecalling.initiative founder John Mack. Shop the issue to read about the artist's installation that combines Pokémon Go’s artificial, digitally mapped landscapes with imagery of more than 50 US National Parks and the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

#ExhibitionPicks A Scratch on Earth | @columbusmuseum @wendyredstar's latest show examines the roots of feminism and the ways Native peoples have been represented by outsiders throughout history and today. Open until 3 September. Discover insightful features on the latest global exhibitions. Head to Aesthetica online.

Issue 113 | @julian.charriere The photographer's documentation of polar regions examines large-scale human intervention in the landscape inciting an urgent call to action. Read more about the artist's practice in the latest issue of Aesthetica. Shop Now.

#ExhibitionPicks Playtime | @palaispopulaire In response to the 2008 financial crisis, Isaac Julien released multi-screen installation 'Playtime' in 2013. A decade later, it is still timely and significant. The film poses the question: how can financial capital be visualised? Open until 21 July. Link in bio to read more.

Pride Month is dedicated to honouring the history of Stonewall and foregrounding LGBTQ+ communities all around the world through parades and celebrations. We bring you the art exhibitions, events to discover this Pride Month, from photography shows and collection tours to day-long festivals and talks programmes. Link in bio to find out more. 1. @coyotepark 2. Zanele Muholi (@muholizanele) 3. Tseng Kwong Chi

Aesthetica Online | This Week's Top Reads - @dewi_lewis_publishing’ latest release ‘Pictures From the Garden’, responds to Paddy Summerfield’s iconic book with a series of poignant photographic essays. - Daido Moriyama’s exhibition @coberlin documents everyday moments amidst immense change in Tokyo between 1955 and 1970. - Architect Sir David Adjaye (@adjayeassociates) takes a unique approach to honouring cultural legacies through design, as shown in a new monograph from @phaidonpress. Head to the link in bio to discover our #WeeklyReads. Images: 1. @jemsoutham 2. Daido Moriyama 3. @adjayeassociates