Fine Line (also titled Fine Line: Twelve Environmental Sculptures Encircle the Earth) is a photographic and sculptural project by Martin Hill and Philippa Jones, begun 1996 completed 2019 at high points of journeys and climbs in remote mountain locations worldwide. Documented by Hill's photography, the work centres on twelve ephemeral sculptures connected by a conceptual line encircling the Earth, beginning and ending in New Zealand.
Emerging at a time of intensifying ecological awareness, Fine Line responds to deepening concerns over the climate emergency, ecological overshoot and biodiversity crash. Its symbolic line underscores the precarious balance between economic prosperity and environmental collapse, highlighting how linear, human-centred systems are incompatible with nature’s regenerative cycles. It emphasizes the urgent need for sustainable systems redesign and recognizes the profound interconnection of earth’s ecosystems. Drawing from natural systems science, the artists propose that human systems must emulate nature’s circular processes. Sculptural forms often juxtapose straight-sided shapes, symbolizing human intervention, with circular forms that evoke ecological harmony.
Visually, the photographs capture site-specific sculptures built from natural materials found at each site such as snow, ice, rocks, volcanic tephra, vines, sand and grasses. These forms are constructed on location using natures materials with compositions carefully chosen to harness light, and the surrounding landscape. Natural light plays a crucial role—dawn and dusk are favoured for their tonal subtlety. A digitally superimposed line in each image connects the works conceptually, while the sculptures themselves are left to decompose, reinforcing the principle of impermanence and ecological integration.
Exhibited internationally and published as the monograph Fine Line: Twelve Environmental Sculptures Encircle the Earth (Bateman Books, 2021), the project has also been recognized with an “Excellent Photographer” award at Pingyao (2014) and finalist status at the NZ Mountain Film & Book Festival (2022), reinforcing its position in environmental art and photography.
