I’m writing this to you from the shoppice the afternoon after the opening of my first solo photography exhibition, Feeling Bright Blue. I washed all the wine tumblers from last night and warmly thought of the wonderful friends who sipped from those glasses as the cool water rinsed away the suds and ran over my hands, a brief respite from this tinderbox summer. There is sweat collecting in the band of my linen shorts and the flowers I cut with Holly at Cherry Gardens yesterday morning are already starting to drop, but whew do I love it here. When we first got the keys back in April, there was a part of me that feared I’d always prefer the comfort of working from home, but now, a quarter of a year later, I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. Virginia Woolf once said that a woman needs a room of one’s own in order to create her art, and it feels very gratifying now to sit in this space surrounded by so many plants and a mess almost entirely of my own making and feel the truth of that sentiment so deeply.
But I’m not on my own. Having this space to work and daydream and create in isn’t a solo adventure. I’m stuck in with my friends at Knot Works, and regularly welcome my business partner, clients, and friends through the door. I saw this tweet from Dr Elizabeth Sawin shortly after signing the lease and I think it’s the seed at the heart of Feeling Bright Blue, and the reason the shoppice is such a special place. Sawin writes, “The antidote to hopelessness isn’t hope, it’s connection.” It’s no coincidence that by taking on this space and deepening my connection to others, my work and my spirit are both thriving.
I’d like to tell you about Feeling Bright Blue
This exhibition has two parts. The first is a series of five photographs, each one representing a different facet of the struggle I feel living in a capitalist society during the climate crisis. Like the climate crisis, the blue in these photos is overwhelming, pervasive, everywhere, and manages to drown out or overshadow the beauty of the plants in the foreground. It forces us to ask how can we fully experience beauty and joy when we’re immersed in a situation that feels hopeless? Here in the Garden of England, our ground is parched and multiple reports reveal that the private companies we’ve entrusted to care for our water systems have let the infrastructure collapse while handsomely rewarding CEOs despite their horrible performance and the repeated dumping of raw sewage into our rivers and sea. Sometimes my blues feel as deep as the poop-and-plastic-filled ocean.
The second part of the exhibition offers a solution: connection. By connecting with each other and sharing the things that make us feel blue, we can band together and help alleviate some of the problems in our communities! Or that’s what I hope, at least. I’m inviting visitors of the exhibition to sit for a portrait and asking them to fill in a questionnaire about what gives them the blues and what gives them hope, which I’m sharing anonymously as part of the digital exhibition. But there’s strength in numbers and ultimately I would like to hear from as many people as possible, so I’ve made a fully anonymous version of this questionnaire for anyone to fill out, and I'd love for you to take it if you have five minutes.
I know I won’t solve any of the terrible systemic problems we face with this little exhibition, but it feels nice to do something. To fill a space with people and watch their eyes light up as they talk to one another, to observe how they slowly relax when a camera lens is turned on them, to watch as they tilt their head to the side and really look at a photograph. No, I might not be solving the big problems, but maybe someone will feel seen or heard in some part of this exhibition and their blues will feel a little more bright. That will be enough.
Feeling Bright Blue is on until Friday 9 September and is available to view by appointment or on Fridays and Saturdays from 14:00 - 17:00.
Other Things
I’m absolutely obsessed with this lime and poppy seed slaw from the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen book, Shelf Love. Trust me when I say that the multiple elements here are actually really easy and also trust me when I tell you to make twice as much of the cashews and the curry leaf oil. You’ll want them for snacking/adding to everything. (note: it makes a lot of slaw. I halve the recipe but make double the cashews and curry leaf oil.)
I cried from beginning to end reading Serena’s farewell to tennis. I’m so glad she got to do this in her own words, on her own terms, and so glad I was able to grow up watching her play. 😭😭😭😭😭
Generally speaking, I’m not a movie person and I feel very Didn’t See It Don’t Need To about most of the big releases, but I knew Elvis would be different. (Have I ever mentioned here that I’m a Moulin Rouge stan??) Austin Butler’s heartthrob stoicism paired with Baz Luhrmann’s classic OTT spectacle was cinematic perfection and I loved everything about it… except Tom Hanks, who should’ve been replaced with literally anyone else. I laughed, I cried, I was outraged at how Elvis was treated (and how, all these years later, Britney has been treated so similarly) and I absolutely cannot wait to watch it again. I kept thinking about our human need for genuine connection as I watched, and how easy it is for those with financial power to isolate, torment and control those under them. It’s kind of like how our capitalist system works now! Hmmm much to think about…
And on that uplifting note! ✌️