Holdsworths inverted images of mountains set upon a neutral sky look alien and surreal. I remember first seeing these images in the British Journal of Photography and being immediately intrigued by them. The inversion of the image really draws out the scarring on the landscape, although this scarring is entirely natural and caused by the cutting of rivers and streams into the mountain side.
It is entirely possible that these images were produced using black and white film or even paper negative processes. This leads to an extreme necessity of conditions to be perfect in order for best results.
In his Art Review Feature, Mark Rappolt comments on Blackout as “Rather it celebrates the dark unknown… …as much as the series illustrates the process by which nature carves out a landscape, it illustrates the supernatural process through which we dream one up.” The unfamiliar conveyance of the form of the land strikes us and provokes us to explore more deeply the what and the why of the image.
Holdsworth, D. (2010). Blackout. https://www.danholdsworth.com/works/blackout/6/
Andrews Masters Journey 