Ophelia's Garden

Ophelia’s Garden is a series of photographic still-life artworks created underwater using flowers grown and foraged by the artist.  The works were inspired by Shakespeare’s words and the classic Pre-Raphaelite paintings of Ophelia and explore themes of loss, love, beauty and freedom.

Like Shakespeare’s Ophelia, each flower has been carefully chosen bringing to life historical meanings or creating connections through their common names.  The tulle that wraps itself around the the flowers and flows through many of the images represents Ophelia’s clothing drifting in water.

Each image is tightly framed, an intimate celebration of the beauty of nature and a deeper exploration of love.  The process of creating these images destroys the flowers yet results in an everlasting record of their beauty.

Things are not quite as they seem in this mysterious underwater world.  Flowers float in darkness seemingly unachored to the ground, air bubbles look like water drops, wisteria stands instead of hanging.  These are still life’s yet the water creates a sense of freedom and movement in the images.  A magical world has been captured that exists only in this realm.

This new and deeply emotive series of work was created in early 2022.  The sense of movement and freedom reflecting the easing of COVID restrictions and yet ensuring we retain a strong sense of connection to nature.