Simon Johnston: Meridian

The Meridian project is a series of large-format black and white photographs taken in England on the line of zero degrees longitude. Using GPS technology to establish accurate locations, Johnston photographed on this line from coast to coast, facing either due north or due south.

A vertical fluorescent orange line superimposed on the centre of the images represents the line of zero degrees longitude, transgressing the conventional purity of the picture plane. This mirrors how we superimpose a rational grid over the globe to regulate space, time, trade, and navigation.

Although a prime meridian was established at the Greenwich Observatory in London in the late eighteenth century, many other countries used their own prime meridians, leading to much confusion. It was not until an International Meridian Conference in 1884 that Greenwich became the global Prime Meridian.

Simon Johnston's cross-section portrait of a country explores how time is measured, with the Prime Meridian being the international dateline from which all other time zones are calculated. These images depict the span of history, from ancient churches to industrial buildings, and various forms of transportation by road, rail, air, and sea.