Sam Nightingale is an artist-researcher working across environmental media, experimental photographic practices, and expanded fieldwork. His practice-based PhD, Spectral Materialism: encounters with land-time-scapes (Goldsmiths, University of London, 2026), developed ‘spectral materialism’, a concept and method for registering the multiple coexisting temporalities embedded in salt, soil, plant matter, and the residual infrastructures of extraction. Working site-responsively, he develops experimental photochemical techniques, producing images with and by salt, soil, and halophytes to respond to ecologies shaped by hypersalinity and the settler-colonial infrastructures that produce them. His work draws as much on technical media as on an environment’s capacity to act as ‘elemental media’ or ‘natural media’.

As a postdoctoral researcher at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, in the research unit ‘Infrastructures, Aesthetics and Supply’, he extends the notion of spectral materialism to the colonial infrastructures of extraction in Namibia. Here he examines how aesthetic practices of attunement can render spectral manifestations of infrastructural systems and their enduring ecological and socio-political consequences more accessible to perception and critique. His work has been presented internationally through residencies, workshops and exhibitions, including at Haus der Kulturen der Welt; PACT Zollverein, Germany; the Bioart Society, Finland; and the California Institute of the Arts. He is co-editor of Fieldwork for Future Ecologies: Radical Practice for Art and Art-based Research (2022), which reconceptualises fieldwork as a creative and speculative mode of inquiry. Recent publications include ‘Saline Intimacies: Salt, Trans-imaginary Practice, and Infrastructures of Extraction’ (Revista de Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica, forthcoming); ‘Sensing Seaweed and Practising Photography Differently’ (Common Sensing, 2025); and ‘Seetang’ (Zeitschrift für Medienwissenschaft, 2024).

Selected Publications

>> ‘Saline intimacies: salt, trans-imaginary practice, and infrastructures of extraction’ (Revista de Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica, forthcoming)
>> Living Methodologies - what enters the field with us?, Rewilding Cultures/Bioart Society (2026)
>> Fieldwork for Future Ecologies: Radical practice for art and art-based research, Bridget Crone, Sam Nightingale & Polly Stanton (eds.) (2022/24)
>> ‘Sensing seaweed and practising photography differently’ in Common Sensing, Centre for Research Architecture #3, Riccardo Badano, Tomas Percival, Susan Schuppli (eds.) (2025)
>> 'Seetang' in: Zeitschrift für Medienwissenschaft,Jg. 16 (2024)
>> Feral Labs Node Book #2: Feralities, Bioart Society and Projekt Atol Institute  (2024)
>> 'Attuning to the Politics and Poetics of Seaweed in the Hebrides', in Holding Sway: Seaweeds and the Politics of Form, Melody Jue and Maya Weeks (eds.)
>>‘I followed an image of a potential future...’ in Experimental Fieldwork for Future Ecologies, Bridget Crone, Sam Nightingale & Polly Stanton (eds.) (2022)
>> Cinétracts - cinematic cartography in the Australian Mallee’, Living Maps Review, (2019)
>> Dust & Shadow, Reader #2: 'Attunement', Maja Kuzmanovic, Nik Gaffney, Ron Broglio, Adam Nocek (eds.) (2019)
>> 'Para-photo-mancy: notes on biochemical images,' Antennae (issue 48, 2019)
>> 'Photochemical Alchemy,' CAA Art Journal Open, (2019)
>> Futures and Fictions, Ayesha Hameed, Henriette Gunkel & Simon O’Sullivan (eds.) (2018) 
>> Spectral Ecologies, Mildura Arts Centre (2017) [exhibition catalogue] >> The Sensible Stage: Staging and the Moving Image, Bridget Crone (ed.), 2nd edition (2017) [photographic works] >> Beneath the Salt, Marianne Bjørnmyr and Dan Mariner, (eds.) (2017) [photographic works]
>> Living Earth: Field Notes from the Dark Ecology Project 2014-2016, Sonic Acts Press, (2016) [photographic works] >> By Our Selves, Andrew Kötting (ed.) (2015), [photo-essay] >> Forgotten Futures: modernist architecture of the british seaside town, The Modern House (2014) 
>> Spectral spaces: Islington’s Lost Cinemas, The Spaces [editorial feature] >> Spectral Conjuring of a Cinematic Present, The Cinemas Project book, [photo-essay] >> Picture has Not Been Checked, [artist's book]

Residencies / Invitations

>> Field_Notes – Living Methodologies, Bioart Society, Kilpisjärvi Biological Station, Finland (2025)
>>Extractivism: Towards a gendered and transdisciplinary approach at the threshold between land and sea – Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana (2025)
>> Sites of Scattering – Lüderitz, Namibia, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (2023) 
>> PACT Zollverein - Essen, Germany (2021)
>> #Instituting, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) - Berlin/ Athens (2021)
>> Røst AiR, Norway (2019)
>> Field_Notes – Ecology of Senses, Bioart Society, Kilpisjärvi Biological Station, Finland (2018)
>> [Im]material Nuclear Landscapes, TimeSpan, Scotland (2018)
>> Practising Deep Time Residency, TimeSpan, Scotland (2017)
>> Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria, Australia (2016)
>> Dark Ecology, Norway & Russia (2015)
>> A Brooks Art Marfa, Texas, USA (2014)

Talks, Workshops & Events

2026
>> Alchemical Media Practices, Critical Inquiry Lab, Design Academy Eindhoven.
>> Spectral Listening Across Time, Traces of Extractive Landscape and Sonic Gestures of Resonance with Anne Bourne, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
>> Conviviality After Landscape, Hollowed-out Landscapes, Künstler*innenhaus Dortmund, Germany
>> Salt: Spectral Attunement in land-time-scapes, Volatile Words: Image. Ecology. Extraction. Centre for Visual Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London.
2025
>> Leaky Transmissions Symposium, Blackwater Estuary/Othona (organised by Nastassja Simensky).
>> Soil Chromatography (photographing the soil) and exercising critical noticing, Future Matters Networks (with Sonia Levy), Goldsmiths, University of London.
2024
>> Artist Fieldworking: Locations, Methods, Responses, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia. 
>> Sounding Out/ Listening In, a sound workshop for Artists' Film & Moving Image at Goldsmiths, University of London.
2023
>> Fieldworking in the Garden, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
>>Workshop for Deepening Creative Practice, The Tavistock Insititute of Human Relations, London. 
2022
>> The politics and poetics of seaweed, School of Critical Studies, California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles, USA
2021
>> Traversing Topologies, SARN/ Lucerne School of Arts and Design, Switzerland
>>Practices of Attunement, HKW #instituting Public Programme (Athens and online)
2020
>> Liquidity Cohort (Goldsmiths): Salt and Saturation, with Melody Jue (University of California)
>> Practising Landscape: Land, Histories and Transformation, Glasgow School of Art, UK 
>> Salt: a crystal image of time, Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association Conference, University of Brighton, UK
2019
>> Biochemical Images and Non-Human Others, 'Blood and Biome' (SSEA artist collective), London
>> Artist Talk, Estover, Kestle Barton, Cornwall, UK. 
2018
>> Para-photo-mancy: notes toward biochemical images, Critical Ecologies, Goldsmiths, London
>> Deep Time Trajectories, 'Alien Time', Goldsmiths, University of London
>> [Im]material Nuclear Landscapes Field Trip, TimeSpan, Scotland
>> Practising Deep Time Round Table, TimeSpan, Scotland
>> Spectral Ecologies, Sensible Cinema, Advanced Research Workshop, University of London.
2017
>> Artist Talk, Mildura Arts Centre, Australia
>> Imagining Cinema, walk and talk in Ouyen, Robinvale and Mildura, Australia.
2016
>> Spectral Ecologies, Evening Forum, Tavistock Institute, London
>> Spectral Spaces, La Trobe University Art Forum, Mildura, Australia
>> Imagining Mildura Cinema, walk & workshop, Mildura, Australia
2015
>> In Search of Islington's Lost Cinemas: artist walk for Antiuniversity Now!, London
>> Cinema and Local History Mapping Workshop, collaboration Chris O'Rourke UCL, The Cinema Museum, London
2014
>> Marfa West Texas, Residency - Talk for A Brooks Art, Resort Studios, Margate
>> In Search of Seven Sisters Lost Cinemas: participatory walk for Seven Sisters Stories (HLF) Rowan Arts, London
>> Memory & Space: Workshop/talk for The Tavistock Institute, London
>> Activating Cinema: artist-led tour of cinema for Building Exploratory
>> History of Islington's Cinemas: various talks for North London Cares, Sotheby Mews, Building Exploratory

Teaching / Academic

>> Associate Lecturer, Royal College of Art (Media Studies, School of Architecture)
>> Lecturer, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany (Mediated Landscapes; Infrastructures of Extraction)
>> Editor, Hyphen Journal (University of Westminster)
>> Visiting Artist, The Tavistock Institute - Deepening Creative Practice
>> Associate Lecturer, Goldsmiths, University of London

Education

>> PhD (Media, Communication & Cultural Studies / The Centre for Research Architecture), 2026
Goldsmiths, University of London
>> M.A Philosophy and Contemporary Critical Theory, 2014 (Distinction)
Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University, London
>> B.A (Hons) Photography, 2011 (First Class Hons.)
University of Westminster, London

Exhibitions & Screenings

2019
>> Para-photo-mancy, 'OPEN LABS' Science Gallery, Dublin
2017
>> A Crystalline World, Salon 17: New Approaches in Photography, Four Corners, London
>> Picture Has Not Been Checked, pic.london festival, London
>> Forgotten Futures: modernist architecture of the british seaside town, Folkestone Triennial Fringe, Folkestone
>> Spectral Ecologies, Mildura Arts Centre, Australia
2015
>> State Theatre, Sierra Blanca, NCM Exposed, Photofusion, London
>> The Remains, Cities After Hours, UCL, London
2014
>> London's Lost Cinemas, UCL Cities Methodologies, Slade Research Centre, London
>> Marfa West Texas, Residency - Work in Progress, A Brooks Art, Resort Studios, Margate
>> The Savoy, University of Bedfordshire, Luton
2013
>> Islington’s Lost Cinemas, A Brooks Art: Works on Paper, Deutsche Bank, London
>> Forgotten Futures: modernist architecture of the british seaside town, Buoyant, Gallery 40, Brighton
2012
>> Film, Cabinet Exhibition, Islington’s Arts Factory, London
>> Spectres of Film: Islington’s Lost Cinemas and other Spectral Spaces, A Brooks Art, London.
>> Film, Experiments in Cinema, New Mexico, USA
Earlier
>> Crossing Liminal Borders, Freies Museum, Berlin
>> Olympic Changes: an inadequate document of life, East Pop West, London
>> Traversal – First Passage, Millington | Marriott, New Gallery, London
>> Olympic Changes: an inadequate document of life, Islington Exhibits, Rowan Arts, London
>> Leaving the Cinema: Spectres of Film, Truman’s Brewery, London  
>> Westphoto Photography Prize, Ambika P3 Gallery, London
>> Olympic Changes: an inadequate document of life, Australian International Experimental Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia
>> Crossing Liminal Borders, Salon 2010, Viewfinder Photography Gallery, London