Few would dispute that Glastonbury Festival is a place like no other on Earth – it’s an experience only fully understood by those who have traipsed through its fields almost ever summer for the last 48 years. In 2019 the festival returned after a year off and everyone’s excitement was building, and even though the headlines were focused on the Pyramid Stage and the celebrities spotted in the wings, there is a host of other people who make the Festival what it has become today.
in 2006 photographer Matthew Joseph attended his first Glastonbury and discovered what all the fuss was about, but also noticed the diversity and freedom of the nearly 200,000 people on Worthy Farm.
“It is a safe place, a place lacking in judgment and a place of free expression. This naturally creates one of life’s great melting pots of people – one which I was keen to capture on camera,” he says.
The Pilton Project provided the viewer with a brief snapshot of life beyond the main stages – aiming to reach the core of what, and who, makes Glastonbury what it is. From young to old, fringe performers to circus acts, sewage collectors to charity workers – each of the people had their own unique reason for travelling to Worthy Farm, and each are truly fascinating in their own way.
The project was featured in The Daily Mail and received a 4 page feature in Shades of Grey Magazine among others.