SOL LDN are excited to announce the representation of American aerial photographer, Alex MacLean! 

After studying a Masters degree in architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Maclean went on to acquire his pilot licence to aid field research for site analysis. Although a keen photographer since childhood, this is when his passion developed for photographing from the skies, as he discovered the limitless possibilities for creating abstract tapestries out of the natural landscape. He went onto create his company, “Landslides”, which specialise in aerial photography for architects, designers, planners and environmentalists. Always vibrant in colour and vast in scale, MacLean’s photographs span streetscapes, beaches, mountain ranges, water parks, plazas, urban developments, cityscapes and gardens. 

While spectacularly beautiful, his busy images also reveal the complexities and absurdities of contemporary life. MacLean has documented mines, extraction pits and oil refineries while flying across America and Europe—amassing an archive of over 350,000 images. With his unique vantage point, the absurd effects these conglomerates have on the natural landscape become especially clear. In particular, MacLean has photographed 1000 feet above northern Alberta’s oil operation; one of the largest industrial projects in the world. The sublime beauty of the wilderness in Alberta is shown by MacLean to be sharply punctuated with vast areas of slick oil sheens and smoke columns rising from refineries. 

The commissions MacLean has received through “Landslides” allows him to explore his personal artistic practice, which is chiefly concerned with development, industry and humanity’s footprint on the natural world. With only one minor accident and one camera lens lost, MacLean continues to spend two to three hours per day flying from one state to the next, observing the dramatic landscape below.