The Wye Valley has a close association with picturesque landscape but for many in the region there are more pressing issues. In the current climate, social inequality and a cost of living crisis are exacerbated by high property prices. The Wye Valley's designation as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty inevitably means those on lower incomes suffer and struggle to find suitable, long-term accommodation.

In this work, I have appropriated estate agents’ images of property for sale in the Wye Valley described as having ‘stunning views.’ The view, as an asset of the property, means natural beauty is in a way commodified and is something that can be possessed as aesthetic capital. In the eighteenth century, during the time of the Picturesque Movement, there was a similar investment in commanding views. Many country houses of the time were endowed with landscaped gardens that could be enjoyed from from the windows and terraces. Often these were made to appear natural rather than formally organised and the inhabitants of such homes could enjoy an ideal vantage point to observe ‘wild’ terrain. Thus, both in the past and the present, an elevated vantage point can be connected with social advantage. To emphasise the idea of landscape as commodity, the images are presented on lightboxes.