Nicholas Holt uses photography to focus on our relationship with nature. His projects encompass a variety of physical and conceptual terrains against the backdrop of a rapidly changing environment.

Nicholas Holt is interested in contemporary rituals and the ways that people find meaning through connection to place and community. As an artist he uses photography to explore unmediated states in nature. As well as photography, Nicholas Holt is a writer and creative director, based in the Peak District, UK. There, he was Creative Director of The Dark Peak Photography Festival 2024. Formerly Nicholas Holt was based in London as a commercial art director. He made documentary work with a focus on narratives about place, people and the environment.

Pictures for Ursula le Guin

“Earth is our country. Why did we look up for blessing—instead of around, and down? What hope we have lies there. Not in the sky full of orbiting spy-eyes and weaponry, but in the Earth we have looked down upon. Not from above, but from below. Not in the light that blinds, but in the dark that nourishes, where human beings grow human souls”. Ursula K. Le Guin

Desertification and aridity

Nicholas Holt’s involvement with the environment has increased in recent years. In 2022 he gained an MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography with distinction from the University of Arts London (2022).Through that he had a period in residence at Joya: arte + ecología, Almeria, Spain. There he became fascinated by the desertification of the landscape and made work based around aridity. His study there connected with a much wide global study of arid landscapes, which continues. Nicholas Holt is the 2023/2024 recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Environmental Bursary to continue his work with communities living on arid land in Senegal. He is also a founding member of the environmental photography collective C454.

The Primordial Mind

Nicholas Holt ’s practice is informed by Carl Jung’s writing on the primordial mind.
“I am also influenced by D.H Lawrence’s philosophy of ‘blood consciousness’. I create works that are the residue of a primordial experience in nature. I also ascribe to John Cage’s maxim of art as self-alteration as opposed to self-expression.
Nicholas Holt has exhibited at Groundwork Gallery as part of the UAL Art for the Environment Exhibition in 2024. “I love the ethos of the Groundwork Gallery and want to be part of a wider community of environmentally aware artists.”

Publications and exhibits

Nicholas Holt’s writing and photography have been much published. As well as in his own zines, his work has appeared in the SUITCASE Magazine, the Geographical Magazine, JRNY Magazine, The Royal Photographic Society Journal, Fujilove Magazine and Bradt Travel Club Magazine. His photography has been exhibited internationally at The Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, Arles Open Walls, as well as at Groundwork Gallery.