Max Boardman is a photographer based in the North West of England. His photographic practice is influenced by his interest in the outdoors, which has led to him developing the ongoing photography project, Blast Sheets.
Blast Sheets is a study in and around disused quarries - with images depicting quarry boundaries, large scale quarry walls, discarded apparatus, and slag heaps. The project explores the relationship between the natural and the altered environment, focusing specifically on the development and scale of the process of quarrying. The images display the enormity of the industry and the historical and contemporary scars that are accommodated by the natural landscape.
These images were, mostly, created within the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO heritage site, famed for its beauty, picturesque landscapes, and panoramic vistas. The images represent the contrast between the semi-industrial landscapes, housing the now abandoned or dormant slate quarries, and the situation of these within the larger, grander landscape of the National Park.
Max studied at the University of Central Lancashire from 2019-2022, gaining a first class BA in Photography. Staying with the University of Central Lancashire, he then went on to gain a Master’s with Distinction in Photography in 2024. Throughout this period, his work was exhibited at the Hanover Gallery in Preston, the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool and the Glasgow Gallery of Photography.
Shown alongside Max’s photographs will be a substantial painting by Julian Cooper, who’s long-standing interest in these same abandoned quarries are seen through the painter’s eyes and are made using hands and paint.
Speaking to Max, he explains, “This project explores the relationship between the natural and the altered environment – focusing specifically on the development and scale of the process of quarrying in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The images display the enormity of the industry and the historical and contemporary traces that are accommodated by the natural landscape.
The work, which was created in disused quarries, studies the dynamic nature of industrial landscapes, perceptions of beauty, and how I, as a photographer, saw and responded to these spaces.”
Blast Sheets runs from 10th September 2026 until 26th October 2026 at the Archive Gallery.