The Greenwich meridian, the line of zero degrees longitude, was first established in the mid 18th century. However, unlike the equator (zero degrees latitude) this line is completely arbitrary, a man-made construct, and not fixed to any geographical feature of the world. Yet, since 1884 this has been recognised as the demarcation line for time zones and for mapping around the world.
The Greenwich meridian was established in an era during the height of the British Empire when navigation of the seas around the world was integral to colonial rule, and so map making and time keeping were the two of the most important disciplines of the day.
Today, the co-ordinates based on the Greenwich meridian are now used in GPS systems for everything from cars to satellites, and also embedded in nearly every digital photograph taken around the world.
Started as a self initiated university degree project, I decided to walk along the line of zero degrees longitude through England from Peacehaven on the south coast, to Withernsea on the northern coast. The aim was to set out to photograph the landscape and people along the way, to document the country, but also challenge the sense of national identity, and our fixation with ordering and measuring time and space.
