Photography
MURMUR
“The subconscious is ceaselessly murmuring, and it is by listening to these murmurs that one hears its truth.†- Gaston Bachelard, 1971.
The word murmur evokes poetic visions of large groups of migrating starlings in flight—individual birds collectively oscillating, twisting, turning, and swirling into geometric spheres in the sky at dusk. Furthermore, a murmur can be understood as a sound that resides at the edges of our perception—a gentle hum that evolves and resonates the more attention we give it.
These metaphors serve as the foundation for the class of 2025, where individual artistic voices come together to form a collective whole. Each body of work in Murmur holds its own space, addressing urgent social, political, and environmental concerns while also contributing to a shared desire to shape contemporary discourse through practice. Their works challenge the boundaries between the seen and the unseen, the audible and the imperceptible, inviting us to attune ourselves to the subtle frequencies that shape the world around us.
The staff of the Photography Department at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD, wish to thank the class of 2025 for the harmonious organisation and deft execution of their graduate show, to congratulate them as emerging artists on producing such engaging bodies of work, and to wish them every success in their future endeavours.
Ryan L. Moule
Head of Undergraduate Photographic Studies
Swansea College of Art, UWTWD.
Our Work
Through the careful examination of the phantasmagoria of time, we can come to understand a meaning of an entity. The reality of definition therefore lies in the in-between state, the comfort in uncertainty. A Symphony of Chaos urges the spectator to pause, interact with the work before them and to question every aspect of its creation, to unlock the messages within.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
- Website  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
When we look at the night sky, we are not just seeing stars; we are witnessing time itself. This project explores the relationship between light, time, and memory, drawing from hauntology - the traces of what once was and the echoes of the past that remain.
Using cyanotype, a process that captures images through sunlight exposure, and patchwork fabric, this body of work reflects how we piece knowledge together through fragmented histories, materials, and experience. Taking the form of a sculptural “observatoryâ€, it invites the spectator to reflect on our local and universal place in space and time. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;The Sublime occupies the oscillating space between distance and proximity. 
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Diagnosed as autistic later in life, Childs’ work communicates the unseen sensory perception of the neurodiverse community. Through non-vocal communication, he reflects on misinformed ideals of the atypical and the current stigma which leaves us in a realm of isolation and uncertainty. Veil self-documents Childs’ neurodiverse identity, which resides in a society with the neurotypical in mind.  
Applying methods of sound visualisation, Veil acts as a conduit for the body’s response to overstimulation. Combining live feeds and processes, non-representative forms disrupt the course of neurodiverse existence. Veil embodies what is invisible, externalises what is concealed and frowned upon. 
Kataphraktos
It is for the first time in modern history that discrimination and violence against transgender people have been widely accepted in society. We are living under constant surveillance, forced to conform to visibility in order to negotiate our human rights, while being told that our identities, the very essence of our being, are better eradicated from existence. Kataphraktos is an act of resistance in which I reclaim my right to privacy without making myself invisible. Utilising medical equipment and ancient chainmailling techniques, I created pieces of armour symbolising a self-assured identity.
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·¡²õ³ú³Ù¾±â€™s work explores the hauntological aspects of the punctum through family archives and how photographs carry a trace of an absent past that no longer exists. Images sourced from the artist’s personal family archives are printed as cyanotype on fabric. Small details such as eyes, mouths, and hands, are cut from the fabric and displayed opposite, creating a tension between the separated images. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
³§²¹²ú²¹â€™s portraits highlight the value of diverse ethnicities to society.  Saba avoids simplistic representations, instead bringing together and photographing people from a different backgrounds. The new composite portrait presents the viewer with a hybrid portrait, reflecting diverse features, colour, ethnicity, with their own voice, as a series that slots together a single human face. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Because the portraits illustrate the various cultures, ethnicities, and languages embedded in some of the organisations Saba have been involved with, the project is deeply personal to her & Saba believes Diversity encourages empathy and collaboration between individuals. Her work with Diversity is core to her career as a photographer and an activist. 
Drawing from the daydreams and imagination of a younger self, Nia Jane rediscovers the light-hearted freedom of following the artistic whim, in Innate Stellate. Within this project, Jane strives to satisfy some of the hazier dreams of past whims, reflecting a childhood spent acknowledging instances of visual stimuli through synesthetic responses. Reflections, textures, shapes and shadows all earning a gratifying response; later manifesting themselves into dreams, artworks and babbling rhapsodies. Like many artists however, she would not be able to accurately represent these emotions through her work until later on in life – thus, Innate Stellate was born.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
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Instagram
Residual Imprints explores the human response to connection. Looking at the traces relationships leave behind, how they shape identity through fragmented moments, emotional imprints, and the echoes of connection. Existing in the space between intimacy and distance, the work captures the lingering presence of others—both their absence and their lasting impact.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Residual Imprints speaks to the fleeting nature of relationships, questioning how experiences with others embed themselves within us by shaping our habits, actions, and sense of self. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Serena Killen is a documentary photographer focused on revealing the often-overlooked aspects of the world. Her “Memory in Pixels†project explores modern music culture by highlighting grassroots bands and local venues. Through her lens, she captures the vibrancy and determination of these spaces as they face challenges like rising costs and limited late-night transportation. By sharing these stories, Serena showcases the resilience of the music community and emphasises the need for support for these venues. Organisations like the Music Venue Trust help provide security, enabling venues to navigate difficulties with strength and resilience. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
- Website  
Extracting and unravelling the interpersonal connection between feminine beauty and family heritage, the multi-disciplinary project Vessels invites you to reflect on societal conformities that have a tangible seize over our relationships with our bodies.
Esme Littlechild has recognised these pressures in the development of her own body, while also dwelling on the inevitable hereditary anxieties of physical ageing.  Our bodies are the vessel we live, breath, move and experience through, curated by features of generations before us that we now inject, modify, uproot and remove, creating a disconnect and trauma in the chase of ever-changing conformity.
- Website
Echoes in silence
Echoes in Silence is a deeply personal body of work that explores the deaf experience, reflecting Cerian’s own journey. Through this collection, she seeks to share the complexities of growing up deaf and the challenges of missing something fundamental to communication while navigating a world that doesn’t always understand. This project invites viewers into the C_e_r_i_a_n_’s_ _life, offering a glimpse into the quiet moments that define the deaf experience, often overlooked or misunderstood. It fosters empathy and awareness, sparking a broader conversation about the struggles of living without full hearing capacity and advocating for inclusion.
Rhys Morgan’s ongoing work reflects on how humans occupy, alter, and leave impressions on the spaces they pass through. Partnered with themes of Hiraeth and materiality, his artwork studies the conceptual relationship of space and human inhabitancy. Using materiality as a visual anchor to highlight the intricacy of a location’s presence. Naturally using areas that have personal ties which in turn greatly affects his composition, evoking a dialogue between permanence and decay. How do physical environments shape our identities, and how does our movement through them inscribe meaning? That continues to be explored.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Karsten Obrietan is a visual artist based in Wales, currently working with the mediums of charcoal, oil paint, natural dye and textile design. The body of work DANCING N01 has been made and continues to evolve as a project from constant dancing. Regardless of if Obrietan is happy with the end result of an artistic experiment, he continues dancing and the work changes with each of those dances. This process of nonstop dancing is what has made the work what you see today. Each piece has been cut, dyed, sewn, painted and cut again in a process of construction from deconstruction. Each dance with these natural materials has created a therapeutic exchange between the material and the artist. Finally, DANCING N01 attempts to interact with what it means to make marks on this planet and what it means to be a human in the material world in which we live.
The artists work explores the connection between body image and the natural world, emphasising the parallels between human form and nature’s cycles of growth, decay, and renewal. Just as nature resists categorisation, so does the body, with each mark and curve telling a unique story.
By blending organic materials with human forms, It is to challenge conventional ideals of beauty and celebrate the body’s resilience and imperfection. Through this, the goal is to claim self-acceptance and a deeper connection to both the body and the natural world.
Will Steadman’s photographic practice examines the interwoven relationship between human infrastructure and nature’s inevitable resurgence. By capturing industrial sites and overlaying AI-generated natural elements, his work envisions a future where nature reclaims the built environment. Using a custom-trained AI model, he integrates organic growth seamlessly into these spaces, reinforcing the certainty of ecological regrowth.
This fusion of photography and AI challenges perceptions of technological dominance, asserting nature’s quiet but unstoppable resilience. Through this process, Steadman presents a meditation on impermanence, regeneration, and the enduring power of the natural world to reclaim what was once human-made.
Joshua WIlliams project ‘I cope’ intended to address societal issues that are commonly misrepresented. Mental health is often distant from the realities that the lens decides to depict. To offer a new narrative to this subject, Joshua intends to use alternative processes to create and photograph in his body of work. Joshua invites the audience to see his struggles with mental health and transcend the current fixed discourse around this subject through the complex, fractured nature of his work. He recognises our collective experiences are marked by persistent psychological suffering.
°Â¾±±ô±ô¾±²¹³¾²õ’ work explores the human body, reflecting the struggles of body dysmorphia. Finding struggles with her body image, Williams creates a series of images which reflect this idea. The work is from her point of view and looks through her personal struggles that she faces. It focuses on the body and the details that stand out most. Her work also explores how women are often sexualised, leading to these feelings of our appearance.
Exhibition Gallery
Photography Summer Show Exhibition.
Photography Summer Show Exhibition.
Photography Summer Show Exhibition.
Photography Summer Show Exhibition.
Photography Summer Show Exhibition.
Photography Summer Show Exhibition.
Photography Summer Show Exhibition.
