The Beach Today is a series of photographs of beach objects collected on Barassie Beach in Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. The book is the culmination of three months of daily beach walks in spring 2020 when, for a strict half hour each day, I walked up and down the shore for exercise, fresh and and to collecting whatever caught my eye. Forming these displays became a quiet ritual after each walk, acting as diary entries to clarify hazy and uncertain days and opening up of one small space, sharing each one online during a time when our physical spaces became so small. Locked down without my usual equipment, all of the photographs were taken using an iPhone, with the beach objects placed on top of cartridge paper next to a window.

Christina Riley is an artist based on Scotland's west coast. Inspired by the essential connections between art, literature and science, her work uses photography, found objects, writing and installations to draw attention to the details of the natural world with a particular focus on the edge of the sea. She has presented solo and group exhibitions across Scotland and in 2019 was longlisted for the Nan Shepherd Prize for Nature Writing, before later that year starting The Nature Library, a travelling library celebrating the power of words to connect people to land, sky and sea.

ISBN 978-1-913749-14-9 / Hardback / 220pp / Printed on Fedrigoni and Wibalin stocks / 225 x 190mm