Entangled Light: A More-Than-Human Photography Studio

Part of Being Human Festival 2026. Entangled Light shares new research by Helen McGhie and Antony Hall, co-created with local communities. It explores relationships between human and more-than-human ecologies within the urban garden at Islington Mill. Through new photographs and digital artworks presented in the gallery and outdoor courtyard, the exhibition considers how soil can generate low-voltage electricity used to power lights. In workshops, members of Islington Mill Arts Academy, Year 5 students from St Philip's CE Primary School and members of the public built ‘mud’ batteries in a temporary More-Than-Human Photography Studio in Islington Mill's community garden. In total darkness, participants then made photographs and sat for long-exposure portraits illuminated by the batteries. Photographs are installed in the plant beds outside. Inside the gallery, living soil from Islington Mill's garden is presented alongside a film that brings normally unseen organisms, including nematodes and springtails, into view. Together, these works invite closer observation of the ecologies that sustain life above and below ground. Special Events: Creative Reflections from the Garden (A roundtable discussion exploring creativity, community and sustainable futures in urban gardens) Wednesday 11 November 2026, 5.00-6.00pm. Book here: https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/entangled-light-creative-reflections-garden​ Exhibition Tour and Late Opening Wednesday 11 November 2026, 6.00-7.30pm. Book here: https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/entangled-light-exhibition-tour-and-late-opening​ Entangled Light is kindly supported by AHEAD - Arts and Humanities Engagement and Dialogue and the Media and Digital Cultures research group at School of Digital Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University, Incredible Edible Salford and Islington Mill. Events are part of Being Human Festival, the UK's national festival of the humanities, taking place 5-14 November 2026. Being Human is led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and The British Academy.