Philip Tonkyn was born in Plymouth and brought up in Glastonbury. As an illustrator, his clients include Brian Aldiss, Robert Heinlein, Frederick Pohl, Der Spiegel, Hawkwind, Granada, Penguin, Pan and Watkins Books. Throughout his career he has also been involved in art education; from 1988 to 2003 he was Director of Art at the Portsmouth Grammar School.

Philip Tonkyn’s work comprises photographic, drawn and digitally created images which explore the Magical Landscape. The Simulacra Series reveal nature spirits and other imagery by mirroring sections of photographs. In the Sacred Sites Series a number of photographs are joined to make continuous views, giving a sense of being present in the scene and revealing minute detail – the examples in this exhibition are reduced from their original size. Further work on the images explores and reveals their magical qualities, being the sublime fusion of spirit and matter, light on land.