Concrete Nature: The Space Between

Concrete Nature is a creative studio based in Glasgow and run by Clementine Carriere. The studio collaborates with individuals, galleries, institutions, and organisations to bring projects to life across print, digital, and space. Taking a “holistic” approach to what they do, and a desire to “positively impact the planet”, Clementine creates meaningful, engaging, and bespoke work tailored to her client’s goals.

The studio’s recent publication The Space Between, does just that. The Risograph printed publication features the photographic work of international creatives, aiming to question our relationship with nature. Curated and designed in-house, and printed by Out of the Blueprint– a social enterprise based in Edinburgh, the publication takes the reader on a journey to reflect on the different ways our relationship with nature manifests itself within the spaces we experience; from the lushness and abundance of the outdoors, to the intricacy of the man-made spaces we occupy.

“As the world went into lockdown, I was interested to know more about how people connect to nature and what home meant to them,” says Clementine on the publication’s inspiration. She continues; “The goal was always to keep things quite open by offering everyone the option to take part, regardless of where they were based or the tools they used”. The rules around lockdowns in the UK helped to define the limit of the open call by focusing solely on existing personal work. Clementine intentionally chose a broad overall theme so it could lead to an interesting range of responses. A portion of the sales were also donated to charity (Refuweegee and Mermaids UK), an idea that was integrated early on in the project’s planning, and that Clementine will take to future publications.

The Space Between takes readers on a journey from the great outdoors, to the intimacy of indoors settings. It found its name late in the overall process, with the work it features and the way it is curated specifically informing the decision. “The title expresses the idea of a space that isn’t uniquely defined where different things co-exist” describes Clementine.

“The publication is a collaborative piece of work in the sense that every participant shared their work to make it happen, and the publication was uniquely shaped by the work they shared” states Clementine. The Space Between features the work of a long list of photographers, all of which can be seen here, who responded to an open call put out by the studio. The open call was first released on the studio’s website and social media to invite creatives from across the world to participate. Once the open call officially closed, the selection process began. The final selection of photographic work featured in the publication was curated based on how the different pieces worked together.

The publication was designed to engage its reader from cover to cover, with text (Langulaire by Loris Pernoux and GT American by Grilli Type) and photographic works dotted all across the publication. Clementine states; “I stumbled upon Langulaire by Loris Pernoux and instantly knew it would be the perfect fit for this publication. The font is made of distinctive parts; it is complex and exciting. It is also a font that requires time to be read properly. GT America works perfectly at a smaller size and it retains beautifully its forms when Risograph printed“.

The release of The Space Between was a great success, with the publication selling out in a matter of days. Commenting on its success, Clementine says; “…It was a great surprise, I didn’t expect it to go so quickly and I’m incredibly happy to have been able to share the amazing work of so many talented creatives through this publication. It was a great way to start and a real motivation to develop more projects like this. It was also fantastic to be able to collect charity donations through each”.

Concrete Nature will be releasing a new open call later on in March 2021 for a new Risograph photozine. Keep an eye on their Instagram for more info.